The Echo of Destiny
by SOLDIER-MS
Summary: In the New World heroes are hunted down by the Thunderbolt Initiative. However an alien threat greater than any in the universe turns its eyes to Earth in its time of conflict. One man will unite Earths heroes and show the world the kind of hero it needs!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I dont own The X-men, Thunderbolts, Avengers or any other Marvel character

The only characters that do belong to me are the OC's Slade, Sieg and others that appear

This is a sequal to my X-men fix Cry of the Phoenix, reading that one is not central to understanding the plot here, only the character Sieg, but even then he will be explained as well as some of the changes that occured in the Cry of the Phoenix fic. This fic is set up in the post SI world so there will be spoilers. It's a massive crossover with the X-men, all teams of Avengers, the Initiative, the Thunderbolts and Runaways. The Main character is an OC but central mainstream Marvel characters are Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and some of the main X-men characters like Jean Grey, Wolverine and Cyclops are focused on as well.

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 1: A Hunt for Heroes

**2300 hours**

He ran through the streets of Manhattan, his form partially covered by the tattered coat he wore. But passers by could just make out the design of a red and yellow costume. Sweat dripped off of his grown hair and beard as he ran into the alleyways.

"Big mistake, he's just giving us a good target" The Cape Killer captain pursuing the unregistered super human said.

The Captain flew alongside the members of his unit on an OsCorp tech hover bike. Each member of the Cape killer unit loaded their tranquillisers as they took aim.

"Target identified: Dennis Dunphy AKA Demolition Man" The Captain said as he shined the spotlight in the trapped heroes face.

Demolition Man threw off his coat, revealing the D on his torn red vest. He broke off into a run, jumping off of a bin and flying towards the Cape killers. They opened fire, bombarding him with darts. But thankfully D-man was a powerhouse. He clothes lined two of the Cape Killers, knocking them off their bikes. After landing on the floor he had perfect access to the units blind spots. He picked up a sewer cover and threw it like a discuss, knocking one of the hover bikes off balance until it crashed into the ground. The Four remaining Cape Killers quickly changed their angle and fired at him again.

"WHERE THAT HELL'S THAT BACKUP WE REQUESTED!!" The Captain yelled into his radio.

Dennis jumped onto the front of one of the hover bikes, grabbing the agent riding it by his collar. He swung him round, throwing him into the agent across from him.

"GOD DAMN IT GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR CLOUD NINE!!!"

D-man once clothes lined another Cape-Killer, then turned his attention to the Captain. He crouched on his feet, ready to jump towards the Cape Killer. Suddenly a blast of energy flew into his back, knocking him into the bonnet of a car. Dennis groaned as he got up off the floor, turning his head towards the ones who attacked him. He widened his eyes in utter shock when he saw an old Spider-man foe.

Herman Schultz AKA the Shocker wore his traditional padded yellow and red costume, his wrist blasters aimed straight at D-man. Beside him were heroes of the Initiative, Cloud Nine, wearing her Freedom Force costume. Also included in the team sent from Camp Hammond were Red Nine, Annex and Blue Shield.

'Even if I do have tasers swimming around in my body I could get used to this' Shocker thought as he took aim at D-man.

Dennis opened his mouth to speak, but was once again struck by Shocker's blast. He was pushed past the car, rolling across the floor. Blue Shield ran into D-man, punching him across the face. As Blue Shield hit him at impossible speeds, Cloud 9 pelted him with bullets from her rifle. D-man clapped his hands together, creating a sonic boom that threw Cloud 9 and Blue Shield back. Red Nine slammed his fist into D-man's chest, and then fired an energy blast at point blank range. Demolition man clutched his smoking chest, looking around him as he saw the Thunderbolts T-wagon flying over him.

"Dennis Dunphy you are under arrest for breaking the Super human registration law" The Cape Killer captain said as the Thunderbolt agents cuffed the man.

He grinded his teeth together as he elbowed one of the soldiers in the face. Then D-man ran into Annex, tackling him onto the bonnet of a car.

"Get this idiot off of me" The Former soldier growled, pushing the beaten hero towards the other soldiers.

People watched, cheering for the heroes as they forced the unregistered combatant onto the T-wagon. Demolition man was thrown into a cell, the steel doors slamming shut behind him. He breathed heavily, clutching his chest as he felt his heart beat gradually quicken. Dennis Dunphy looked at the cameras inside his cell, reaching out to them, gasping for help.

* * *

Under the command of Norman Osborne, the Initiative had now increased its effort in locating unregistered heroes, bringing them to "justice". Norman sat in his office, swirling a glass of wine in his hand, admiring the handy work of public relations.

_"Dennis Dunphy died after being picked up by an Initiative strike force, he had long suffered from a heart condition which was only made worse by his vigilante activities. He chose to break the law, endangering the lives of civilians and himself"_

The sad thing was that nobody mourned the mans death, they just saw him as another New Warrior. But there were a few people who at least cared.

Upon reading the paper he had paid for, Siegfried Wallace crumpled it up and leaned against the brick wall. He was an unregistered super human with the ability to summon a sword containing the spirit and power of his hero. Sieg wasn't rich, experienced or even part of a team; he was just one person on his own trying to make a difference. And quite recently he had made a difference, by destroying the Phoenix, saving Jean and Scott Summers marriage and restoring the emotions of three of the most beautiful girls he had ever known. The Stepford Cuckoos, who had encouraged him to have more training and explore some of his abilities. He was also dating one of them, Celeste Cuckoo.

Sieg smiled as the said girl was walking elegantly through the crowd. Her blonde hair practically shined in the sunlight, the white dress she wore caught the attention of jealous girls while their boyfriends stared at Celeste's "form", something she got from her teacher Emma Frost. Celeste walked up to Sieg, running her hands through his silver hair. Sieg placed his hands on her hips the way he always would and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. The two of them blushed as passer by stared at their moment.

"So Sieg, where to now?" Celeste asked.

"Well I don't have a lot of money but there's this place around the corner Driver recommended to me" Sieg said.

"It's not a fast food place is it?" Celeste asked.

"Well it doesn't look like one" Sieg said sheepishly, knowing the speedsters taste.

Driver was exactly that, a driver for his boss James Crowner; the chairman of Crown Industries. But more about him later, back to the couple. Celeste held onto Sieg's arm as they walked through the streets towards the diner they would be eating at. It wasn't exactly the best of places, but it was pleasant enough. At least pleasant enough for Sieg, who often hung out in places filled with homeless men and overweight chefs.

"Any of youse know where Sofia is?" The Chef asked his staff.

"Late" A waitress named Tina (judging by her name badge) said.

"So what would you like?" Sieg asked Celeste, ignoring the conversation going on in the background.

"I just can't decide, everything sounds so delicious" Celeste said, sarcasm dripping off her mouth.

"Sorry, I've been trying to find jobs that'll pay me better" Sieg said.

"Then why not just live at the mansion, we have spare rooms and you could even get a job training some of the new mutants we have coming in, that and it would save us coming to such ghastly places" Celeste said, tossing her hair back with pride.

"I'm just not used to the kind of places you've grown up in Celeste" Sieg said.

"You can get used to it you know, and being in the team will get the Initiative off your back"

Sieg nodded his head, leaning forward and kissing Celeste. The young lovers embraced one another, smiling as they silently wished this moment would never end. But when it came to their life, good moments never seemed to last. Celeste's eyes flashed a white colour as she sensed what was coming. Sieg pulled away from Celeste just as a giant figure slammed into the concrete outside.

"AH NOT AGAIN!!" The Chef yelled.

Sieg and Celeste got off their seats and ran outside. The two of them widened their eyes as they saw a massive purple and green suit, with beetle styled wings on its back. But it was the figure on top of the armour that caught their attention. He wore a body suit with the left side white and the right side black, his red eye lenses seemed to give off a glowing effect while red lines run across the mans body, ending at his shoulder pads. His right shoulder pad was bigger than the left, shaped almost like a blade while the rest of his arm was covered in black fabric and armour, his left had a much smaller, sphere like pad with white armour covering his left arm, ending at his wrist while his hand was covered by a red glove. Strands of blonde hair hung in front of his eyes with the rest of it hanging off his shoulders.

'Slade!' Sieg thought as the costumed man jumped off of the giant Beetle.

"**I heard this Beetle squad was trained by the original Beetle Abner Jenkins, your friend might be in for a fight Sieg" **Celeste sent telepathically.

Sieg then looked up as the other two members of the "beetle squad" arrived, wearing the old versions of Abner Jenkins armour. The man in the white and black suit broke off into a run down the street as the giant Beetle got up off the pavement. Sieg took a step forward, but stopped as Celeste planted a hand on his chest.

**"Just watch Sieg, you'll never know he might just pull through"**

Slade skidded to a halt, spinning around to face the approaching Beetles. As the Beetle in the second armour began firing her blasters, Slade crouched as a black shield appeared in his right hand. The beams bounced off of the shield, but did force Slade back a few feet. He rolled to the side, dodging a punch from the third Beetle. But the First beetle fired a blast into Slade's chest, knocking him to the floor. He rolled backwards, deliberately keeping his distance. The Second Beetle swooped in just as Slade jumped to his feet. She landed a punch across Slade's cheek, and then followed with a knee to his ribs. The First Beetle then flew behind Slade, kneeing him in the back.

'He's getting ass kicked' Sieg thought.

Slade's eyes flashed before he elbowed the First beetle straight in the face. He reeled back in pain, giving Slade the perfect shot. Slade slammed the edge of his shield into the Beetle's faceplate as hard as he could. The Beetle reeled back even further, clutching his cracked faceplate.

"Joaquin!" The Female Beetle said in concern.

"That bastard broke my nose" The college student beneath the armour said.

Slade didn't give them another chance to speak, throwing his shield into the second Beetle's chest, knocking her back. He then span around, planting a swift kick to Joaquin's neck. Slade stepped off of the Beetle's shoulder, then rebounded off the streetlight, flying towards the tank styled beetle.

"Hah you think you can take me on!" The pilot scoffed as he thrust his giant fist forward.

Suddenly a red and white scythe appeared in Slade's left hand. He hooked the scythe onto the giant Beetle's hand, swinging off it and landing on the exo-skeletons head. Slade held his right arm out, and the black shield suddenly flew smoothly into his arm. He raised the shield and slammed it onto the cockpit of the Beetle Tank.

"Idiot you think that a petty shield can crack my armour" The Pilot said.

The tank Beetle slapped Slade, sending him crashing into a wall. As Slade got up off the floor, the other two Beetles fired their blasters, hitting Slade in the chest and leg. He fell to his knee, blocking another shot from the female Beetle. Slade quickly got on his feet and summoned his scythe. He looked underneath the giant Beetle, confirming whether or not there was anyone behind or underneath him. There wasn't, and with that information he ran forward. The Beetle's fired their blasters and Slade rolled to the side and blocked each shot. One beam slammed into his shoulder, but Slade kept running towards the giant Beetle.

"Go for it!" Sieg whispered, knowing what Slade had planned.

Slade jumped to the side, dodging a crush punch from the Beetle tank. He then rushed forward, cutting straight through the mecha's leg with his scythe. The Third Beetle lost its balance and slammed into the ground, shaking its pilot.

"Oh shit!" The other two beetles whispered as Slade turned his attention to them.

He ran his scythe across the giant Beetle's shoulder, chopping off its arms before jumping towards the second Beetle. With one slash he shattered her wings, sending her falling to the floor. Then his glowing eyes turned to the last Beetle.

"Double shit!" Joaquin muttered, remembering his broken nose.

Slade threw his shield, but the Beetle flew to the side, easily dodging the projectile.

"Idiot, I've been trained by the original Beetle and I've seen your moves, so what makes you think you can win?" The Beetle asked, flying towards Slade.

The man smiled underneath his mask as the Beetle got closer. Suddenly, Slade's shield flew into the back of the Beetle's waist. He yelled out in pain, giving Slade the perfect opportunity to deliver an uppercut to his jaw. With his enemies either unconscious or disabled, Slade crouched on the floor and with incredible strength he jumped onto one of the buildings. Sieg had to smile as Slade made a hasty retreat from the scene.

"Well that was rude, he never said hello" Celeste said, wrapping her arms around Sieg's neck.

"He's always like that, always on the move" Sieg said.

Slade leaned against the wall of the alleyway, rubbing his bruised ribs. He looked around and seeing that it was safe removed his mask. Reaching underneath the trash bin he pulled out a bag where he kept his regular clothing in. After changing he walked back onto the streets.

'Heroes hunted, is that the world the people want?' Slade asked himself as he walked into the crowd.

* * *

Name: Unknown

Aliases: Slade Muga, "The Hero who doesn't care"

Age: Unknown, physically appears to be in early twenties

Contacts within the last week: Siegfried Wallace

Last place of appearance: New York

Threat Level: Unknown

Blood type: Unknown

Family: Unknown

Powers: Increased durability in bones and skin, near Olympic standard stamina and fitness, defining ability is the shield and armour that covers his left arm, an armour and scythe will cover and appear in his right arm

The director of the Thunderbolts and the new face of the Initiative looked at the data on his desk screens. They showed video footage from the Skrull invasion, specifically a battle between a super Skrull with the collective powers of Xavier's first group of New X-men and the man known as Slade Muga. He was a short man, at least five feet 2 by Norman's calculations; his clothes consisted of dirty grey trousers, a blue coat with a high collar that left the sides of his neck partially covered, the coat also had black lines running down it towards his heels. A pair of grey and red armoured boots covered his feet starting from his knees, while underneath his coat he wore a white and red shirt. Slade's hair was a blonde colour, with the back spiking downwards and a few strands of his fringe hanging over his eyes, though he had since given up the spiked hair.

Slade had some potential, but the problem was he lacked skill, when he fought the Super Skrull to put it lightly he was getting ass kicked. But he was able to knock his opponent out cold with of all things a head butt. He was a renegade hero with quite frankly little training and care for what the people thought of him. And that made him the perfect candidate to be figuratively crucified by the Thunderbolt Initiative.

Norman stood in front of the main Thunderbolt's team. Behind him was a screen showing both the video footage S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had collected and newspaper clippings of Slade in costume.

"Slade Muga, that appears to be the name that the media has given him, the Daily Bugle refers to him as the hero who doesn't care, yet the Daily Post has referred to him as "a hero needed", because he hasn't appeared that many times, mainly for threats that would result in a loss of life, one being a hostage situation at a bank, a car accident where he applied CPR to a wounded child, he even stopped a man from committing suicide" Norman explained.

"How did he do that?" Chen Lu asked, his green skin lighting up the briefing room.

"Followed him around all day stopping him from jumping off a bridge, drowning himself, running out in front of a car, he even held his arms when he tried to choke himself…oh and of course the one that made me really laugh" Norman said, the insane grin he had running across his face.

"Well what did he do?" Songbird asked.

Norman paused for a moment, trying to compose himself before he broke in a laughing fit. He adjusted his tie and went back to the briefing.

"When the man intended to pick a fight with a group of gang members, that must have been the final straw because he broke the mans leg and sent him to the hospital, what's really funny is that the man stopped trying to commit suicide"

"Why?"

"I'm not quite sure, maybe he just realised that it was pointless to try suicide, or he decided to find a good shrink, who knows? Anyway back to why you're here, Slade Muga's actions have begun to spread fear amongst the civilian population, his lack of concern for property and his recklessness make him the perfect candidate for a public capture…which we will of course begin once public opinion has shifted in our favour by revealing his face to the public and showing him his reckless fight against the Skrull in New York and the Beetles" Norman explained.

"And once the people are begging us to apprehend him we take him down in public" Moonstone summarised.

"Of course, now I don't want him dead nor crippled, make him draw out his true power, get him to cause some real damage in the city before taking him down"

* * *

The Thunderbolts nodded their heads as Norman closed the meeting. They had been hunting heroes throughout the month that had passed since the Skrull invasion. At the top of their list were of course the New Avengers, New Warriors and the Counter-Force.

But there were lesser heroes that Norman had ordered the members of the Initiative to capture. Unregistered heroes like Turbo the former New Warrior and Julie Power and Ricochet had been hunted down and shipped off to the Negative Zone. Prodigy rebelled against the Initiative, but he was promptly defeated by one of the Initiative newest recruits. Even retired heroes like Firestar had been arrested.

As he watched the news reports of the "reformed" villain Rhino beating the Mattie Franklin Spider-woman to the ground, James Crowner gripped his remote tightly, grinding his teeth together in utter fury. His beautiful blonde haired secretary Gloria laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. Since they were out of the office and instead in his penthouse in Malibu, they were out of their business clothing and instead in more casual summer clothes.

"Our stocks haven't taken a tumble, and I haven't got Stark on my back about giving his Initiative more technology…but I still feel distracted" James said, rubbing Gloria's hand affectionately.

"Osborn's too arrogant to admit that your technology is greater than his, but don't worry sir, anyone who actually cared would be distracted by this" Gloria said.

James switched the TV off and got up off his chair.

"Window close!" He said.

The shutters closed as James walked towards the wall beside the library. He pressed his hand against the wall and suddenly, a small portion of the wall-slid open, revealing a screen and number keyboard. James typed the number into the board and clipped a headset onto his ear. He tapped his finger against his arm impatiently as the image of the inside of a car appeared.

"For the fastest person alive he sure doesn't believe in timing" James sighed before he turned his head towards Gloria. "Tell me Gloria, would you support me in every choice I made whether it be business or personal?"

Gloria blushed at the question.

"You know boss most women might take that question the wrong way" A cheerful and somewhat hastened voice said.

James turned around and was quite shocked to see Driver standing before him, wearing his black business suit with his hat tilted down to cover his eyes.

"How'd you get past Security?" James asked.

"Oh you know me boss, not to insult the guys skill but Securities no where near fast enough to catch me" Driver said with confidence in his voice.

"Tell me Driver, do you think you'd be able to outrun the Initiative?"

"Oh definitely, I mean sure they have Blue Shield but he's not a genuine speedster"

"Good, I want you to pick up some people and take them to the location I'm downloading to your handheld computer" James explained, typing on the computer at his desk. "I've heard that these people have been appearing quite a lot recently and I want you to pick them up".

"Is this a profitable action or a charitable one?" Driver asked, tilting his hat slightly.

"Let's just say that it's the right thing to do" James said solemnly.

"The right thing huh…then I'd better put in my best effort" Driver grinned as he looked at the names and locations on his hand held computer.

Before James could say good luck, Driver had already disappeared. The billionaire inventor got up off his chair, running a hand through his hair.

"Do you think that Osborne's going to cross the line sir?" Gloria asked.

James paused for a moment and lowered his head "Jack Flag, Steel Spider, Americop, I don't think Osborn even drawn a line" He said before he opened his windows and looked out at the sea.

'Be careful Sieg…if anything were to happen to you I don't think he'd forgive me' James thought before he went back to relaxing.

* * *

It lurked on the edge of space, not one but many ships of an entire fleet. Pure black ships hidden in the blackness of space, floating towards the blue and green planet. Asteroids would slam against the hull of the ships, but nothing would stop them as they flew towards Earth.

From their home on the moon, the Inhuman's watched as the fleet descended towards the Earth. Inside the leading ship, in a dark hall filled with red lights sat a figure on a thrown. He wore a pure black cloak, covering his face and the rest of his body. All's that could be seen were a pair of sinister red eyes glowing beneath the hood.

"The Earth was created in Seven Days, and what a world it has become, Annihilation, Genocide, fools goals…this world will become the capital planet of my empire…and the universe I create will be one of pure order, the onslaught I unleash upon this planet will destroy half the planet, yet the rest will kneel before my feet and worship me as the god I am"

He clicked his fingers and the hall was suddenly lit up. Kneeling at the feet of this one man were hundreds of aliens of many different races, including the Kree and Skrull. The ships suddenly began to change from black to a red and purple colour and the leader of this new threat to the planet stood up, squeezing his armoured hand into a fist as he made a prediction.

"In seven days Humans will bow!"

Next Chapter 2: The Arrival

While the Thunderbolts begin their PR attack on Slade, the Xavier institute is attacked in the dead of night. The new invaders approach the Earth, but are held back by the combined might of the Inhuman royal Family. As the X-men defend their home they're shocked to discover the return of an old friend!

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, it'll get better as the main villains show up. Slade and Sieg's origins **wont** be fully explained in this fic. Slade will take over the main character role that Sieg held in the Cry of the Phoenix fic. This is just the beginning of an epic fic, which I think at least makes Secret Invasion and even World War Hulk look like as Ares describes "slapfights". Next chapter will be primarily be an X-men presense as well as the Inhumans.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 2: The Arrival

Slade walked through the streets of Manhattan with his hands in his pockets and the hood of his giant blue coat covering his hair. His eyes crossed to a brick wall where along with the New Warriors symbol was a bit of graffiti he was seeing quite a bit lately. It was Iron man's helmet, or at least the shape of Iron Man's helmet with a personal message on.

"Still our hero!"

It pleased Slade somewhat that despite the mistakes he had made Stark still had the support of the children. But then again Slade never did care about being a hero; he just cared about saving lives. He looked at a group of TV's through a shop window, showing an advertisement for the latest Thunderbolts action figures. Slade couldn't believe what had become of the heroes of today; then again those were the heroes the people thought they wanted. Yet they weren't the heroes they truly needed.

'Sieg, will you join these heroes wanted, or will you remain a hero that is needed?' Slade wondered.

* * *

"AAAATCHOOOO!!!" Sieg sneezed.

He was sitting underneath a tree, looking at the newly rebuilt Xavier institute. Sieg had to admit that James's men worked fast. He got up off the floor and began walking towards the mansion. Inside it life had moved on, young mutants were learning control of their powers, and the future of the X-men were receiving greater training. Cable tapped his foot against the floor of the danger room as he impatiently waited for his trainees to arrive.

"Hey guys did you know that Cable's now only 20, he's two years older than most of us and he's the one ordering us around" Hellion pointed out as he, Mercury, Rockslide and Ink walked through the corridors of the subbasement.

"Julian, the guys lived longer than the three of us combined, and I heard he served as a mercenary, he obviously is probably the only person qualified to teach us combat next to Wolverine and he's hanging out with the Avengers nowadays" Mercury said.

Pixie, Surge and Kid Vulcan joined them round the corner.

"Where are Noah and the cuckoos?" Hellion asked.

"Noah's in therapy with Phoebe, Mindee's inducting some new students and Celeste's got another day off with that Siegfried guy" Noriko said.

"Hey Ashida show the guy a little more respect, if not for him we wouldn't be back together like this" Hellion said.

The Young X-men walked into the danger room and formed a line in front of Cable. Despite being de-aged by the Phoenix, Nathan still kept his military training, and he would still use that for the X-men's training.

"All right, today I'm going to run you through a scenario you've never been through before" Cable began and with a single thought the machinery of the danger room began to operate, the scenery changed to a city landscape, Manhattan to be exact. "I'm not going to give you any details, you'll have to figure out something's on your own"

The Young X-men looked towards the buildings and widened their eyes as they saw a man dressed in some kind of black armour flying away from a group of old S.H.I.E.L.D. cape killers. The mans armour were like blades in some areas, particularly his shoulder and waist guards. A diamond shaped helmet covered his face, while a pair of red eyes glowed through his black visor.

"Any pointers teach?" Hellion asked.

"Yeah watch out for his scythe" Cable said as he folded his arms and watched the young X-men run into the fight.

* * *

In the deep reaches of space, the inhuman royal family looked at the ships of the invasion force.

"Those ships, I know this seems unbelievable but there is no flaw in their design" Karnack said.

The other inhumans widened their eyes at the strategists comment. Then they turned their heads towards the ship at the head of the fleet. A hatch on the side of the ship slid open and five men dressed in red and purple armour flew out of the ship. Their helmets had a diamond shape them, with their visors also shaped like diamonds. Black Bolt gave a signal with his hand for the civilians of Attilan to flee the area. The Armoured warriors landed in front of the royal family, kneeling to them.

"Blackagar Boltagon" The Seeming head of the group said, his helmet had a Red Crescent shape on it, standing out from the other warriors. "Our master intends to conquer this planet, however he will not interfere with your peoples peace so long as you allow us passage and assure us that you will not interfere with his conquest what is your answer?"

For a moment Black Bolt was silent and the other Inhumans looked at him as he contemplated the situation. He then whispered a single word.

"No!"

* * *

Slade's foot slammed into the skinned cow. After a patrol he would stand in a freezer at a restaurant, shirtless as he kicked and punched the rib cage of a cow. It honed several things, his endurance and ability to survive in low temperatures, the hardness in his punches and his speed when he had to sneak out as the chef's took some of the meat out. Of course he needed some form of practice that could actually fight back besides the rapists and murderers he faced on the streets.

And that was where the cage came in. Slade wasn't an angel, some people he saved might say so but in order to hone his skills he needed to cross a line. Every night he would go to an underground street fighting tournament, it not only gave him a chance to improve his self made style but to also make some money he could spend for food. The food would only be the minimal amount he needed to survive, and even then he would buy cheap food so that he had plenty enough to give to charity. Slade performed a jumping kick to the side of the ribs, causing it to swing around. He pulled his fist back and punched the meat as hard as he could, sending it swinging back. Slade then began jabbing the ribs at an astonishing rate, comparable to pro boxers. He then slammed his head into the ribs, causing a crack to appear on the bone. Before he stopped he head butted the meat one more time before he grabbed his shirt and coat hanging on the hook beside him and quickly ran out of the locker as the chef came in for the meat.

Slade ran through the streets of the city, not really for exercise, just a way of him to clear his head. So much had happened since the Invasion, heroes had died, some had even returned. But there was one thing he was sure of, ever since the Avengers disbanded things had gotten worse for the world. First came M-Day, then came Stanford and the Civil War, after that was World War Hulk and the Messiah Complex, and then came the Skrull invasion. Slade couldn't help but think that at least half of them were connected, Civil War made Iron Man a hero but also cost him his relationships with some of his former team mates, World War Hulk Revealed that throughout the years Iron Man had been making the choices for the heroes and had even thrown the Hulk into space, and the Skrull Invasion finally cost Stark both his popularity and his relationships with his former friends, but it also made one man a hero in the publics eyes.

"Norman Osborn" Slade growled as the said "former" Mad man's face appeared on a TV screen through a shop window.

In Times Square, Osborn's face appeared on the other screens and ads. The people stopped what they were doing and looked at the screens, people in shops and diners stopped eating and serving to look at the man who had saved them from the Skrulls.

"Citizens of America, I address you now with the most important of news, walking amongst you is an unregistered and extremely dangerous super human" Norman began.

Slade widened his eyes as videos of his fight with the three Beetles were being shown on the TV.

"Look at him, you can clearly see his lack of restraint and training, he severely injured the young Hammer agents we sent to bring him in…and now I reveal to you who he is behind the mask"

Then the video of Slade's one-sided fight with the Super Skrull appeared. The Memory of that fight was still fresh on Slade's mind; he still had the scar on his head from his vicious head butt, which thankfully knocked the Skrull out.

"Witness the lack of Skill, then he doesn't kill his opponent, an opponent that tried to conquer our planet and will most likely come back to haunt us, this Slade Muga is a dangerous man, avoid crossing his path and report his whereabouts to us immediately" Norman and once the feed was cut the man smiled. "It begins" He said and broke off into a fit of laughter.

Slade wasn't bothered by the report, or the people's shocked reactions around him. What really got on his nerves were the stupid Thunderbolt toy commercials they showed right after Norman's face. He put his hands in his pockets and began walking down the pavement. Within a few hours people were already throwing abuse at him.

"IDIOTS LIKE YOU TOOK AWAY OUR CHILDREN!!"

"YOUR ANOTHER NEW WARRIOR WAITING TO HAPPEN!"

"REGISTER OR GO TO JAIL! I PREFER THE LATTER!!!"

But Slade ignored them, he didn't need their love, alls he needed was for them to shut up while he saved them.

* * *

"HOLY SHIT!" Driver yelled in the middle of his limo.

"Watch your mouth" Driver's brown haired passenger said.

"Sorry kid"

"I'm four years older than you" The man sighed.

"You'll always be Bucky to me…uh…Bucky!" Driver grinned.

"Why did I agree to get in this car with you, and stop watching that screen, keep your eyes on the road or we'll crash" Bucky said.

"Firstly I have never crashed and if I ever did I could just brake apart my car and run away in a flash before I made impact with the vehicle, and for the other question, well it was either coming with me or beating up a load of Hammer agents who are only doing their jobs" Driver explained.

"True, I'd rather avoid fighting soldiers, now what exactly is it that your employer wants with me?" Bucky asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see Bucky Buddy, I've still got four more people to pick up" Driver said as he sped up his limo.

* * *

In Westchester Sieg had a much worse reaction.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!!" The young man yelled.

Sieg's muscles had expanded and his skin had changed to a blue tone. He made for the door but was held back by Onyx, Beast and Colossus.

"LET ME GO I'M GONNA RIP HIM APART WITH MY BARE HANDS!!!" Sieg yelled as he pulled out of the powerhouses grip.

"What's going on here?" Noah, a ginger haired boy with gauntlets to control his light powers asked, walking out of the living room with Phoebe and Mindee, both of whom were wearing a white suit with pink and yellow highlights respectively.

"Could one of you get Celeste, Siegfried just found out that his friend Slade's been outed as a hero" Beast said, grinding his teeth together as he held the stronger boys arms, while Gentle and Onyx held his feet and neck.

Celeste was already in the room as soon as she felt Sieg's anger. She was wearing her uniform, a blue and gold suit which like her sisters resembled her old Corsairs training uniform, although hers had much longer, opera style gloves and a silk white belt strapped loosely across her waist. The girl laid a hand on her boyfriend's chest, sending soothing waves into his mind.

"It's okay Sieg, you know that Slade can look after himself, if you go to Thunderbolts tower then you'll only be making this school a target and putting the students in danger" Celeste explained.

"And putting you in danger…that's the last thing I want Celeste" Sieg said as he returned to his original size.

He put his hands on Celeste's waist and let her wrap her arms around his neck.

"Sieg, remember what you said to me, that you wouldn't put yourself in danger so that you wouldn't break my heart?" Celeste asked.

"I remember Celeste, and I'll keep that promise" Sieg said.

The others merely shook their heads as the two kissed one another. Next thing they knew the New X-men were carrying one another out of the subbasement.

"What was the whole point of that exercise Cable?" Hellion asked, resting on Rockslide's shoulder.

"One to show you not to dive into a fight and get your ass kicked by an opponent you know next to nothing about and two, things aren't always what they seem" Cable said before he walked into Xavier's office.

"What the hell does that mean?" Noriko asked with a groan.

Nathan ignored the question and closed the door to Charles's office. The wise teacher was sitting at his desk, rubbing his head. Cable raised an eyebrow before he walked to his father's teacher's side.

"Charles are you okay?" He asked.

"I feel something on the horizon, something approaching from the depths of space, it's already struck the moon" Charles began.

"I feel it too, ever since the Phoenix reversed my age and restored my Telepathy and Telekinesis I've felt something in space, mere glimpses of a fleet of ships, and a figure sitting on a throne"

"But I see it, the Inhuman Royal Family is falling, their city and kingdom is being destroyed even as we speak" Charles said, his voice filled with dread.

* * *

Black Bolts voice echoed through the emptiness of space, the raw power of his yell shattered at least one of the alien ships. But the five that had come to face the Inhumans were unaffected by Black Bolts voice, each one of them merely ran forward, drawing their katana styled swords. The leader of the invasion force swung at Black Bolt, who ducked underneath the blade. Medusa lashed out with her life like hair, smashing one of the guards across the face. It was a force that would have broken anyone's neck, but this merely caused the armoured man to shake his head.

"My turn!" The man said.

He thrust his hand forward, firing a beam of pure white energy at Medusa. The beam slammed into her chest, knocking her to the floor. Black Bolt turned his head toward where his wife fell and in his anger he prepared himself to roar like he never had before. But suddenly much to the horror of the Inhuman's, the leader of the armoured warriors slashed Black Bolt across the throat.

The peasants of the Inhumans and the members of the Royal Family looked as their king's blood dripped onto the ground of the moon. Gorgon roared in utter fury before he slammed his hooves into the ground, shaking the moon itself. The Inhumans all ran forward, the makeshift and ill-prepared army ready to defend their king and home. Karnack focused his mind, trying to find some weakness in the armours design. But two of the warriors ran through the crowd, jumping over their heads and at times kicking or slashing anyone that tried to grab them. They locked their hands together and pointed their fingers at Karnack, firing a beam of light that pierced through both of the mans lungs.

"KARNACK!!" Luna yelled as she ran through the crowd to the mans side.

"He…ros…tent!" The man gasped for air.

Tears ran down Luna's face as the Inhuman's strategist's life faded before her eyes. She closed Karnack's eyes, leaving him in peace. The Inhumans ploughed into the other warriors, piling on top of them. In a flash of light they were thrown off of the warriors, at least ten or twenty of the inhumans were thrown out of the moons orbit. Black Bolt looked at the helpless Inhumans floating towards the Earth. A tear ran down the king's eyes as insect like machines flew out of the other ships, their armour bearing the same colours as the warriors.

"ROUND THEM UP! IF ANYONE RESISTS KILL THEM!!!" The Leader declared.

"That probably means we'll kill all of them" One of the warriors said and broke off into a fit of giggling.

"I do hate this business, but alas these sacrifices cant be helped" Another one said as he traced a finger across his sword, the blade covered itself with purple energy and with one swing, the warrior put five inhumans through more pain then they had ever been in their lives.

Hundreds of the insect like machines began grabbing Inhumans, dragging their struggling bodies across the moon before flying back to the ships.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US!!!" Gorgon yelled as he was suspended above the ground by two of the insect machines.

"Your power, your freedom, your world…in the end everything will belong to our master!" The leader said before he silenced Gorgon with an incredible punch to his head.

Luna ran towards the city, with one of the warriors in pursuit.

"GO TO EARTH LUNA WARN THEM!!" Medusa screamed as she ran in the warrior's way.

She wrapped her hair around the warrior, trapping him with millions of strands of her hair. Like tentacles she squeezed the man as hard as she could. But another one of the warriors slashed the strands of her hair, sending the Inhuman queen falling to the ground.

"Ignore the girl, let her get to Earth, let her warn whoever she wishes, we destroyed the Guardians, we conquered the Kree, and we will conquer Earth" The Leader of the Warriors declared as Luna ran to the teleporting dog Lockjaw.

On the capital ship of the fleet, the master of this invasion force sat on his thrown, looking at a video feed of his dungeons, which contained the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan and Crystal and many others who opposed his conquest.

"Give them another few hours, then we declare our dominion" He said.

* * *

Night had fallen in America and while some slept, most in Manhattan were either on their way out or were gathering outside Slade's apartment. He stood in his room, his costume hung up at the window for everyone to see. Slade merely stood, waiting for his enemy to arrive. He stretched his arms out, the black and white armour covering both arms. Outside Driver parked on the kerb and wound down the window to watch the scene in front of him.

"Don't you two find it rather pathetic how we humans can so quickly be turned against one another?" He asked his passengers, he had since picked up another on James's list, a woman with short black hair. "I've got to say Miss Hill, it certainly sucks to be you, I couldn't imagine what I'd do if James no longer had any need for my valuable skills" He said, flashing a grin Maria's way.

Maria Hill glared at the man, the only reason she agreed to get in the limo was because she had nothing better to do and she had covered kidnap prevention exercises in her self-defence training so she was capable of looking after herself, even against a super human.

"Are you here to pick up Slade?" Bucky asked.

"No, I just wanted to stop and see what he was doing, whether he was outside with a Nazi uniform to show how little he cares about what people think or whether he just hung his costume up by the window, don't worry folks he would never wear a Nazi uniform, he hates the Nazis, and he would never look good in a uniform" Driver said with a grin before he drove off.

Slade's ears twitched as he heard the hammer agents loading their rifles at his door. He broke off into a run and jumped through the window just as the agents broke through the door. The young man landed on the pavement, his eyes looking up at the T-Wagon flying over the city. Inside that aircraft were his enemies. A hatch on the ship opened and out came the Thunderbolts. They each landed gracefully on the ground, taking in the cheers of the crowd supporting them. Slade stood easy as he looked at the supposed super heroes.

"We offer you a choice Slade Muga, join the Thunderbolt Initiative or go to the Negative Zone" Moonstone said.

"I will not register, nor will I allow myself to be arrested, if you attack me then I'll defend myself" Slade said as he summoned his black shield.

Moonstone nodded her head, getting exactly what she hoped for. With a motion of her hand Swordsman, Venom and Radioactive man walked towards Slade. He stayed still, his eyes closed as the three men surrounded him. Strucker put a hand to his sword while Venom licked his chops. Suddenly, Slade felt a piercing sound in his ears. He put his hands to his ears and looked up, floating above him was Songbird, her pinks wings glowing and her mouth open, releasing a sonic tune into Slade's ears. His three opponents took this as their opportunity to strike.

Swordsman slashed at Slade, taking off a few strands of hair as the man ducked under the swing. Venom swung his fist at Slade, who blocked the blow with his shield. Cheng ran forward, thrusting his glowing gloved hand at Slade. Knowing that the radiation would weaken him, Slade leaned backwards and allowed himself to fall to the floor. He then kicked Radioactive man's knees, sending him tumbling to the ground. Flipping to his feet, Slade summoned his scythe and slashed Venom across the chest. He then blocked a swing from Swordsman, grinding his teeth together as his blade was locked with Strucker's sword. The son of the former Hydra leader smiled underneath his helmet as he activated his powers from the piece of his sister's skin. In a flash of yellow light, Slade was sent flying back, slamming into a brick wall.

Before Slade had time to recover, Moonstone and Penance both fired their energy beams at Slade. He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the beams. Penance fired a wider wave, throwing Slade back. Slade bounced across the floor, dust staining his coat and shirt. A tear ran across the back of his coat, Slade threw his coat off and ready himself for another attack. This time Songbird attacked with solid constructs of sound, throwing a barrage of energy bullets at Slade. He rolled across the floor, dodging the bullets, then bought his shield up to defend against a blast from Moonstone. Slade widened his eyes as he noticed his shield had gotten heavier. Then he remembered that Moonstone could also manipulate gravity as well. Not only would that give her flight but super strength as well as she lifted a car off the ground and threw it at Slade. He swung his scythe and cut straight through the middle of the vehicle, then broke off into a run towards Moonstone.

"Just get out of there, run away" Nick Fury said to himself as he watched the scene from his secret base with his Howling Commandoes beside him.

"I don't know Fury, the Thunderbolts are some pretty heavy hitters" Stonewall said.

Others also watched the fight with interest, the New Avengers watched intensively along with Cyclops and Jean Grey's X-men in San Francisco.

"Ooooh now that's got to hurt" Iceman quivered as Slade took a devastating punch to the chest from Venom.

But the hero still got up off the floor to slash Gargan across the throat. He then back flipped before throwing his shield towards Radioactive man. Chen ducked underneath the projectile, but he didn't think about Cap's shield, and how Slade's shield was exactly the same as his one. The shield rebounded off the wall and slammed into the back of radioactive man's head, knocking his mask off.

"If I didn't know any better I would say that was Steve using that S.H.I.E.L.D." Sam Wilson, AKA the Falcon said as he watched the scene with the other New Avengers.

"But his fighting skills are too street" Clint Barton, the former Hawkeye said.

Indeed Slade's movements lacked any real discipline. Swordsman cut him across the cheek and Moonstone punch him in the stomach. Songbird then screamed at him, forcing Slade to cover his ears. He widened his eyes when Radioactive man ran towards him, ripping his gloves off. Chen thrust his hand forward, trying to grab the rebel heroes neck. He quickly rolled to the side and slammed his black fist into the Korean's face. Much to Slade's shock and Chen's surprise a crack ran across his armour. Green mist rose out of the cracks and Slade grinded his teeth together, realising that the radiation Chen unleashed had affected his armour. The tall imposing figure of Venom stood over Slade, growling as he rubbed his healing throat.

"I don't care if the cameras are on me, your going to be the example for all heroes" Venom hissed.

"You hear that dirt bag, we're the new heroes so you might as well give up now before Venom crushes your spine" Swordsman said.

Slade looked towards Venom who had a grin spread across his face.

"Come and try!" Slade said casually.

Venom roared before running at Slade, who slid underneath him, stabbing his scythe into Venom's crotch. Gargan screamed in utter agony while some of the heroes watching either laughed or cringed. Slade broke off into a run, leaving his weapon imbedded in between the former Scorpion's legs. He jumped over a taxi and altered his course to avoid a blast from Penance.

"God Damn it!" Moonstone growled. "Bullseye, intercept Slade in one of the alleyways" She whispered.

"As I recall I asked you to push Slade to his limit, I highly doubt that meagre fighting skill and knowledge of every man's soft spot is very threatening Miss Sofen" Norman said over the radio. "Bullseye leave him be, Baldwin hit him with 70% of your full power, Venom get his scythe off of your penis and bite his shoulder, wound him so that he has no choice but to use all of his power"

Penance, the former New Warrior Speedball groaned as the spikes in his suit raked against his skin. He thrust his hands forward and launched a wave of energy towards the direction Slade had ran in. With the sun setting, TV stations across America continued to cover today's event. Penance's attack flew towards Slade, and the hero turned around to take the blast head on. He was thrown back by the blast, ripping off his shirt and burning a bit of his skin and crumbling the armour on his shoulder and right elbow. Venom stampeded towards Slade, swinging his scythe around in anger. Upon contact with Slade's chest, the scythe shattered into pieces. But this didn't stop Venom's feral rage; he sunk his teeth into Slade's shoulder.

"Oh shit!" James muttered as he and hundreds of other Americans heard Slade yell in pain.

"Oh shit!" Driver said.

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!" Driver's passengers Bucky, Hill and now Jennifer Walters yelled at him.

Slade yelled in pain as his blood dripped onto the floor. Osborn smiled, thinking that this act had to make Slade unleash more of his power. Slade's eyes glowed an intense red colour and began releasing a mist like vapour as they shined fiercely. Venom sunk his teeth in deeper but then widened his eyes as he felt a strange taste on his tongue. He let go and lifted his head up to examine Slade. Then he noticed the blood on his mouth, not Slade's but his own. A smile crossed Norman Osborn's face as a spiky; diamond pad now covered Slade's shoulder. The spikes then slid into the armour as if it was alive like the symbiote that Gargan wore.

He began growling uncontrollably before he pulled his black fist back. Razor sharp blades suddenly covered the fists knuckles as Slade thrust it forward. Venom roared in pain as Slade slammed his fist into his stomach, the blades and spikes stuck out of the other end. His left foot then became covered in white and red armour. Slade jumped up and kicked Venom in the neck, sending him skidding to the side.

"Come on, surely that isn't all you've got" Venom taunted.

Slade spread his arms out and the armour on his hands changed to a diamond material, growing sharper like a pair of claws. Suddenly red tentacles split out of each hand; the tips of these tentacles had diamond shapes at the end, a white tip for the left hand and a black tip for the right. He lashed the whip like diamonds around, slashing Venom across the face. Slade hit Venom with enough force to send him stumbling across the floor and smacking him into the air. Then he hit Venom in the stomach with both whips, slamming him into the ground with enough force to create a crater and a shockwave so powerful that the nearby vehicles were sent flying and the glass around them shattered.

Other heroes looked in utter shock at the destruction that Slade had caused with that one attack. Norman merely smiled, for Venom was reduced to a pile of goo, the perfect show of Slade's real power. Slade's shield and the rest of his armour shattered to pieces and the glow in his eyes faded. He turned to the other Thunderbolts, slowly approaching him. Left with no choice he ran into the alleyway, night had already fallen but right now he needed to focus on getting away.

* * *

It was the dead of night at the Xavier Institute. Days since the incident with the Phoenix, the mansion was already becoming a sanctuary for mutants again. The Stepford Cuckoos now slept in their own separate rooms, their own sense of individuality restored thanks to one boy. Celeste smiled as she opened her eyes, wearing a vest and a pair of tight shorts. She pulled the covers off and looked towards her window. Celeste immediately walked over to the window, pulling it open.

"Hi Celeste!" Sieg said with a smile across his face.

A seductive smile crossed Celeste's face as she beckoned him to enter. Sieg climbed into the room, placing his hands on Celeste's hips.

"**So have you thought of Xavier's offer Sieg?" **Celeste asked telepathically as she ran her hands through Sieg's hair.

'I'm not sure Celeste, I've always wanted to help people but I didn't want that to be exclusively mutants' Sieg thought.

"**Your so sweet…I love you!"**

Sieg opened his mouth, shocked at what Celeste had sent him. She slipped off his jacket and pressed her lips against his, falling back onto her bed. Celeste ran her hands up Sieg's shirt, smiling as he kissed her neck. It was the perfect moment, and she only needed to hear one thing for it to become heaven.

"Celeste I…" But the young hero could not finish his words.

The mansion suddenly shook, waking up its inhabitants. Emma Frost shot up; using her telepathy to identify whatever was out there. Her eyes glowed a white colour, but for a split second they glowed black before she clutched her head in pain. Kurt teleported to the repaired cafeteria, covering his eyes as a bright light shined at him. Sieg immediately slipped on his jacket, summoning his sword before he jumped out of the window. A deep mist had covered the school grounds that combined with the lack of moonlight made it difficult to see anything.

As the light shining in Kurt's face began to fade, the demonic mutant widened his eyes as a ghostly hand crashed through the glass and grabbed him. Sieg stood his ground as he heard an eerie cry echo through the mist. As the wind blew he held his sword out in a guard stance. A ghost like image appeared over the unaware Sieg. This ghost squeezed its fist before crashing it down on the young hero.

"SIEG!!" Celeste screamed as she felt her lover's pain.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!!" Cable yelled as he flung his bedroom door open, his blue bodysuit (the one he wore in Civil War) replacing his pyjama shirt and trousers.

Santo and Julian also ran out of their bedrooms, followed by Mercury and Surge, the former of which was sporting her uniform.

"We've been attacked, get all the junior students out through the underground network now" Cable said.

"Wait whose attacking us?" Julian asked.

"It doesn't matter you just have to get…"

Suddenly, a man in Black and silver armour crashed through the wall, holding Pixie and Anole by their heads. He was Abner Jenkins AKA Mach IV a founding member of the Thunderbolts. Cable flew at Mach, grabbing him by the neck and smashing him through a wall. While Surge tended to their unconscious friends, Hellion and his former squad mates ran through the mansion, waking up students. Noah ran out of his room, slipping on a sweatshirt and his gauntlets. The mansion shook again and much to Noah's shock, armoured men with guards jumped through the windows.

"GET OUT!!" Julian yelled as he threw one Hammer agent out of the window he came through.

Noah clapped his hands together; creating a flash of light that blinded the agents around him. He ran into the rooms beside his and began forcing the heavier sleepers out of the beds.

"Come on everybody we need to get out of here" he said as he pushed two students out of their rooms.

Cable and Mach smashed straight through the wall of the mansion, drawing their fight outside. Nathan turned his head and widened his eyes as he saw several Hammer agents shooting Kurt in the chest. But he quickly turned his attention back to the fight, the Hammer agents were using tranquillisers so there was no real need for concern.

"I WANT YOU OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!" Emma yelled.

"Sorry Miss Frost but your telepathy wont affect us" A blonde haired woman wearing a tight black suit said.

"You should listen to Black Widow Frost, even I don't want to hit such a pretty face" Eric O'Grady the Third and current Ant-man said, standing on the Rhino's shoulder.

"Why are you here?" Beast asked, jumping onto the chandelier and looking down on the "guests".

"For supporting Siegfried Wallace AKA Victory Peace you are considered in direct opposition of the super human registration act and so you will be arrested for it" Yelena Belova said.

Celeste ran through the corridors of the school, ignoring the Hammer agents gathering up her fellow students around her. Even when one Hammer Agent was sent flying past her she kept running.

"Celeste, your sisters need you in Cerebra!" X-23 said as she kicked one Hammer agent across the face.

But Celeste ran on, intending to be with the man he loved. Sieg panted as he got up off the floor to face his enemy.

"Gothica!" Sieg growled.

"Good to see I didn't give you a concussion Sieg" A man with black hair and pale white skin said as he suddenly appeared in front of Sieg, he wore a black suit with various white markings across the chest and arms, he also wore a hood and short cloak.

"Why are you here?" Sieg asked.

"I'm a law enforcer now Sieg, and you've broken the law" Gothica said with a smile.

"But you've murdered people"

"True, then again the leader of this new world order killed an innocent girl, a heroes girlfriend I seem to remember hmmm…for some strange reason no one seems to be able to remember that…oh well I need to get back to work" Gothica said as he disappeared into the mist.

Sieg stomped his foot into the ground at his nemesis's power. His ears twitched as he heard someone walking through the mist. He turned around to see a figure in black, carrying a sword on his shoulder. Sieg stood ready while Celeste ran towards the door.

"Celeste wait!" Emma called.

But Celeste ran on towards her boyfriend as he clashed with the man in black. Their swords slammed together, but the mysterious man seemed to have Sieg on the ropes as he knocked him back a few inches. Sweat ran down Sieg's forehead as he desperately blocked against the mans strong swings. With one swing, Sieg's sword shattered and his blood splashed across the floor.

"SIEG!!" Celeste screamed.

Emma and Hank ran forward, the Black Widow fired a dart into Emma's neck while Beast jumped over the charging Rhino. He ran out the door and looked to see the black figure holding Celeste by her neck. Hank took a few steps further, squinting his eyes as he looked at the invader in black. Then he widened his eyes when the mans hood flew off, revealing his face and long black hair. Memories of their first encounter flashed in Hank's mind, including the Death of Psylocke.

"Vargas!" Beast growled.

The supposed true next step in human evolution dropped Celeste and turned to Beast with a confident smile on his face.

"Sieg!" Celeste whispered.

Rockslide ploughed through the Hammer agents, ramming Rhino head on. The two brawlers rolled across the floor until Rockslide threw Rhino straight through the wall of the mansion. Hellion threw a whole squadron of agents away from him while Dust blinded several more. A mist like substance wrapped around Sooraya's sand form. She widened her eyes as she returned to her natural form wrap around the mist form of Gothica, whose top half was now floating in front of her, cupping her cheek with his hand and looking into her eyes.

"You've got a strong pair of eyes young lady, I see a lot of power and a lot of faith, but what lies behind the hood?" Gothica asked, his hand gripping Sooraya's Burhqa.

"Let me go!" Sooraya growled, struggling to break free from her bonds.

"Don't worry beautiful Sooraya, it only hurts for a moment and then you see the truth" Gothica said as he pulled off Sooraya's hood and bought his lips close to hers.

"Sicko…what are you thirty?"

Gothica suddenly turned around and came face to face with Pixie, armed with her soul dagger. She thrust it forward, but much to her shock Gothica grabbed the blade like it was wood.

"A soul dagger, very impressive, but I'm afraid your spells don't work on me, but don't worry…magic full stop has no affect on me" Gothica said with a grin.

"How about TK asshole!" Hellion said as he thrust his hand forward, pushing Gothica off of Dust and Pixie.

Gothica skidded across the floor and grinned as his eyes glowed a silver colour. Rockslide smacked two agents across the head, knocking them out. Ant-man then grew to his giant size, collapsing the mansion roof. He grabbed Rockslide and threw him as far as he could out of Westchester.

"SANTO!!" Mercury yelled.

Black Widow pulled the trigger on the crossbow she carried and launched a dart into Mercury's chest. Suddenly Cessily screamed in pain as electricity ran through her metal form. X-23 ran at Yelena, ignoring the hail of bullets flying into her. Yelena ducked underneath X-23's claws, and landed a hard kick to the girls face. Noah guided the other students towards the underground passageways. He slammed his hand into the wall, opening the secret door.

"Hope, Nezhno, Alani, I need you three to stay with the younger students, I'm going to see if I can find the Professor" Noah said and his three friends nodded before he ran off.

Noah ran through the corridors of the mansion, ignoring a battle between Kid Vulcan and Rhino so he could find his teacher. He skidded to a halt at Xavier's room and growled as he saw two Hammer agents carrying the Professor's unconscious form away. Noah blasted one of the agents in the back, and then fired another shot, pushing the second agent off of Xavier. He ran to Xavier's side and examined his neck; a tranquilliser had indeed hit him. Kid Vulcan blasted Rhino out of the mansion, and then turned his eyes to a one-sided fight between Beast and Vargas. Vargas cut Beast across the shoulder and punched him across the face. Hank countered the punch with a kick to Vargas's face. But the man grabbed Hank by the throat before throwing him aside.

Sieg ran at Vargas, attempting to slash him with the crystallised form of his sword. But with one slash, Vargas shattered the blade before punching Sieg across the face. Hammer agents began dragging Nightcrawler away, but Cable flew through the woods and tackled the agents, pushing them off Kurt. Mach flew after Cable, but was stopped by a blast from Kid Vulcan.

"You kids need to get out of here" Cable said as he flew past the young X-men.

"That's easier said then done" Surge growled as she electrocuted three Hammer agents.

"We could really need some help from the others right now, what are the Cuckoos doing?" Hellion asked, blocking a blast from Gothica.

"Psychic powers are negated in my presence for a 30 mile radius, even though they're using Cerebra their telepathy is useless" Gothica explained as he fired multiple blasts of silver energy at Hellion and Surge.

"PIXIE USE A SPELL AND GET US OUT OF HERE!!" Surge yelled as she pulled the electric arrow out of Mercury's puddle.

Sieg's sword returned to normal and he leant on the blade, gazing at the destruction of the mansion. Before he fell unconscious he muttered the names of two people he trusted the most in this world.

"Celeste…Slade!"

Sieg fell to the floor, Celeste gasped as she got off the floor and ran towards him. But she suddenly felt a strong grip on her wrist. Two Hammer Agents held her by her arms while another two-dragged Sieg towards the truck outside the gate.

"We have the target director Osborn!" One of the lead Hammer agents said.

"Good, get him out of there and gather up the rest of the students" Norman said, his eyes fixed on the TV screen as the Thunderbolts waited for Slade to walk out of the alleyway.

Slade leant against the dumpster, thinking hard on what he was about to do next. He did have the strength to gather up enough power, but would that really gain anything. Would defeating the Thunderbolts really change anything? Other heroes may gain the confidence to fight this order directly, while others may merely see him as a threat and put their best effort into hunting him down. But if he didn't fight back against Osborn then who would. He walked towards the edge of the alleyway and Bullseye cursed himself for not striking earlier.

"Leave him be Bullseye, lets see what he does" Norman said.

It was the dead of night and heroes across America watched this one man face off against not only the Thunderbolts but also squadrons of Hammer cape killers. The X-men fought with everything they had in Westchester. Pixie had her hands together as she chanted the teleportation spell. A grin crossed Gothica's face as he put his hands together and breathed, releasing a silver mist from his mouth. Pixie finished the spell and in a flash of light she, Surge, Mercury, X-23, Anole and Hellion disappeared.

"Where did they go?" Ant-man asked as he returned to his normal size.

"Anywhere!" Gothica grinned.

Kid Vulcan flew after the truck carrying Sieg while Cable held off Mach. Beast ducked underneath a swing from Vargas's sword and Noah ran towards the passageway, carrying Xavier with him. However several Hammer agents, led by Yelena Belova, blocked his way.

"Okay, you want to fight lets do it!" Noah said as his hands flashed with light.

* * *

Slade walked out of the alleyway, not even bothering to cover his eyes as the spotlights all shined in his face. Camera crews traced their cameras over his face. Venom snarled, eager to cripple the renegade hero. Slade closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought about everything that had happened since Stamford and then it occurred to him. This was exactly what Norman had wanted, what he had planned for.

"You've got two ways out, either you turn yourself in…or you know what happened to Jack Flag" Moonstone said, almost smiling at the memory.

Slade opened his eyes and looks towards the Thunderbolts.

"There's always another way, anything can be achieved through trying, you manipulated everything, to show the world that you were the heroes they wanted and needed…but I'll show them, that you aren't who they need!"

Slade spread his arms out and suddenly the white, black and red armour covered his entire body. The armour then began to take shape into a form people had only seen in history books. Light shined off of the red and gold armour, armour that closely resembled the Mark Three Iron man armour, but this armour lacked the mouth slit of the helmet and the gold circle was now glowing a blue colour.

"_**THESE ARE THE KINDS OF HEROES WE NEED!!!" **_Slade yelled, his voice giving off an echo as he took flight towards Moonstone.

Norman widened his eyes in utter shock at what had become of Slade. He rolled to the side to dodge a blast from Swordsman, and kicked Radioactive man across the head, knocking him to the ground. When Penance fired a blast from his hands, Slade merely blocked the blast with his arm. He continued flying towards Moonstone, receiving little defiance from Songbird while the bullets from the Hammer agents armour merely bounced off his armour.

"Of all the forms to take" Luke Cage growled.

"If only I could start over!" Tony said to himself as he remembered the lives he had saved and the battles he had fought in that armour, back when Steve was alive.

"You can't start again, but you can do something now" A voice said in the shadows.

Tony turned towards the barer of that voice, a young man wearing a chauffeur uniform.

"What if I were to tell you my employer was putting together a team, the start of an army to face a coming storm" Driver said.

"I'd have to ask what the storm is?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is replaced and so are you, Norman is now the new face of American heroes, you have to ask yourself, is this just the beginning?"

Tony looked to the screen and saw Venom run into Slade's flight path.

"I'M GOING TO ENJOY THIS!!!" Gargan yelled.

"_**NOT AS MUCH AS ME!!!" **_Slade roared as he skidded to a halt.

Venom opened his mouth wide, but much to the shock of every man and woman present Slade didn't cower in fear or try to avoid him. Rather he pulled his arm back and shoved it straight down Venom's throat, grabbing his tongue. He pulled on the tongue, drawing Venom's face into his fist. Slade pulled again, dealing an even harder punch to Venom's head.

"_**THIS IS FOR THE STEEL SPIDER!!" **_Slade yelled as he hammed threw Venom into the air.

A smile crossed Tony's face as Slade fired the Uni-Beam straight into Venom's chest, drawing him further into the air. Slade then flew towards Moonstone as Venom crashed into the ground.

"Will this team your putting together fight Osborn?" Tony asked.

"And whoever else he's allied with" Driver grinned.

* * *

"SIEG!!" Celeste screamed as she clutched Siegfried's sword tightly.

Though Noah fought bravely, he was still surrounded with at least ten rifles aimed at his head. Beast was already on the ground, at the mercy of Vargas.

"Say hello to your friend when you meet her McCoy" Vargas said as he raised his sword.

Suddenly a deep sense of fear gripped the Hammer Agents and even Vargas. It was terror they had never experienced before. Much to the shock of the remaining X-men, the Hammer agents, the Black Widow, Rhino, Ant-man and even Vargas ran, screaming in terror.

"Okay…what just happened?" Noah asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Beast held his cut arm tightly as he got up off the floor and looked into the woods. He widened his eyes in utter shock.

"No it couldn't be" Hank said to himself.

"Looks like she's part of the club now" Cable said.

* * *

Slade grabbed Moonstone by the neck and pulled his fist back. But he stopped his fist just inches away from her face. Before Tony could ask Driver for any more info, his TV flickered and the scene changed from the battle in New York to a view of a throne room. Outside of Tony's safe house, Driver's passengers got out of the limo and looked at the sky.

James widened his eyes when he looked out of the window of his penthouse.

"Looks like that team's going to be needed earlier than I thought" James said to himself.

For the first time of the day Norman was shocked as he looked out of his office window to see the invaders ship hanging over the city. He looked on his computer and found that the same ships had appeared in Paris, Moscow, Washington, Africa, every major city in the world and even Wakanda. TV screens across the world flickered as their regular shows were replaced with the image of the throne room, and the alien leader, sitting at his throne with the unconscious Black Bolt, Ronan and Nova at his feet.

"Rich!" Robbie said to himself as he looked at the screen in Times Square.

"People of the Earth, your planet is next!" The Leader said as he addressed the whole population of the planet.

* * *

A figure stood on the spire of the empire state building, clad in gold and red armour resembling Iron man's, his form covered by the night. As the lighting flashed around him, he looked down at the city in contempt.

"The destruction and death of the past will be changed, but the end result will be the same…the world wanted heroes, but what it needs is an enslaver!"

Multiple holes appeared around the armoured warrior as he crossed his arms and the members of his team stepped out of them.

"WE WILL ENSLAVE ALL AND CREATE A WORLD OF ORDER AND TRUE PEACE!!!!"

Next Chapter 3: Making a team

Next time the Alien Invader addresses the entire planet while the X-men deal with the return of an old friend, the scatterring of the Young X-men and the capture of Sieg. Osborn puts together the Initiative to defend America while James and Stark bring together the rest of their team. Elsewhere the Young Avengers and the Runaways are attacked by what appears to be the Avengers.

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, Gothica will appear (albeit less powerful) in the upcoming fic True Heroism a rewrite of my Marvel Universe series. Slade's shapeshifting abilities will be fully explored once he joins up with the Avengers. feel free to review the fic because it helps me to focus and improve on the writing.

Some members of the team James and Stark will put together will of course include Captain America (Bucky), She-Hulk, Wasp (Hank Pym) and (hopefully) some surprising members.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: i dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 3: Making the team

Hundreds of people across the Earth now found themselves looking upon the face of the leader of this new alien threat. In less developed countries such as villages in Africa and the Middle East, people would look up at the sky and see a hologram of the leader as he addressed the world.

"This planet has endured countless attacks, both internally and from beyond space, but now your planet has been chosen as the capital of my new Empire" The Leader began.

A frown crossed Osborn's face as he looked at the man. In Manhattan, Slade looked up at the invader, still holding Moonstone by her neck.

"The Kree, Skrull, Shiar, countless races have surrendered themselves to my reign, they have bowed at my feet and so will your leaders if they even value their peoples existence, for now do not be afraid for the full might of my army will not be unleashed for another two days, when the sun rises tomorrow you will receive a show of my people's power, you will witness the fall of the civilisation you care the least for, after that you will either surrender or fight…and then die!"

"Worlds have been ravaged by my army, but only to the point where they can be rebuilt naturally, your world powers can not access their nuclear weapons, only your military and "superhuman" army will be able to stop me…I look forward to seeing whether these heroes will last any longer than the others…the Nova Corps lasted four of your Earth days, let us see if you can break the record…I am Karabai, your new god"

The Image of Karabai disappeared and the world was left with this new threat.

"LET GO OF ME!!" Moonstone yelled at Slade.

Without any care at all Slade let go of Moonstones neck and looked at the people around him. They were understandably more focused on the alien ships flying over the city. The pieces of his armour shattered and Slade returned to his normal form as the Thunderbolts surrounded him.

"Haven't you got an alien invasion to prepare for?" Slade asked fiercely.

He casually walked past the snarling Venom, giving a small nod to Songbird before he walked through the crowd. Moonstone sighed before putting her hand to her ear.

"Director Osborn, what are we going to do?" She asked.

* * *

In Avengers tower, Norman was already on the horn to Camp Hammond while keeping the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on hold.

"I want all available heroes ready for full combat, gather any solo players and have them meet teams in Manhattan, the Thunderbolts will personally over see the president during his transfer to the bunker, I want teams deployed for Manhattan, LA, Texas and the rest of New York" Norman said.

"Sir, do we want to contact the unregistered heroes?" One Hammer agent asked.

"Of course not, their services aren't required we've already run training exercises for this scenario" The Director of Hammer said.

* * *

The Thunderbolts got into the T-Wagon, most of them angered by the fact that they couldnt take home a body. Slade returned to his apartment, where people were already beginning to pack. He walked past those walking out and into his room. Hanging at his window was his costume, or at least what was left of it. The costume had been ripped apart. Slade lowered his head slightly before he grabbed the remains and ripped apart what was left of the suit.

"I always thought that it suited you"

Slade turned around to see Driver standing at the doorway.

"What do you want?" Slade asked.

"Actually it's the boss, he's putting a team together, originally we were going to fight Osborn but now…well you've seen what's up in the sky" Driver said with a grin.

"I've never worked with a team" Slade said.

"But your also a hero, and you've just changed into the form of a fugitive, of all the forms you could have chosen to kick their asses why pick Iron man?"

Slade lowered his head and walked by Driver.

"You know Slade, at some point your going to have to let people in, how about you start with this new team…you'll save a lot of lives if you join"

Slade thought for a moment before he looked Driver in the eyes.

"When do we start fighting, and who will I be working with?" He asked.

Driver burst into laughter as he hugged Slade.

"All right, let's get you some clothes and introduce you to the team" He said happily.

In an instant Driver disappeared, then reappeared with clothes for Slade to wear. Slade merely shrugged his shoulders before he took the pile of clothes off of Driver's hand. Driver tapped his foot against the floor as he waited for Slade to change. Slade came out of his apartment wearing cargo trousers, a sleeveless shirt with a thick collar along with a pair of black braces, his usual armoured boots and a pair of black gloves. He climbed into the limo and was rather shocked to find Jennifer Walters, James Barnes, Maria Hill and Tony Stark sitting before him. Of course Jen and Bucky were sitting as far away from Stark as possible.

"Okay kids, this is Slade, Slade Maria, Slade Jen, Slade Tony, Slade James…good nowthatwe'reallintroducedlet'sgetgoing!" Driver said in an excited and rushed voice as he started the car.

The passengers quickly put on their seatbelts as Driver was already at the speed limit of the neighbourhood.

"I find it a little disappointing that James had to change his plans but then again that's life you never know what it throws take Osborn for example who would have thought that an old villain like him would turn into a mastermind I thought he would just go back to laughing and throwing bombs but creating Hammer and taking over the Initiative was a total surprise…" One thing about Driver was that he never paused, always leading his passengers to confusion.

While Driver continued his recruitment drive, the Initiative began to move in on Hammer airships. Civilians were being rounded up and put on the airships and helicopters by both Hammer agents and heroes from the Initiative. Cloud 9 gathered crowds of people onto her clouds and flew them onto the top of the Hammer airships. Others like Gauntlet and Komodo merely coordinated the crowds towards the Hammer Agents, who controlled the amount of passengers going onto the helicopters. Air force jets circled Manhattan while Helicopters dropped Tanks and heavy trucks onto the streets.

* * *

Norman Osborn smiled to himself as he watched the evacuation operation from his office in Avengers tower. True his hero hunters had been drawn away from the Xavier institute but they managed to retrieve Sieg. That boy was the perfect weapon for destroying the invading fleet. Norman walked over to his desk and typed a number into his speakerphone.

"Crowner Technologies how my I help you?"

"Ah Gloria how lovely to hear your voice again" Norman said in a charming voice.

"Oh Norman Osborn, what a displeasure!" Gloria sighed.

"What exactly is your boss doing, my agents have only seen fifteen people walk out of the Crowner building since an alien invasion was declared"

"You don't need to worry Osborn, James has his own way of getting out of the city, that and he promised a pretty girl a candle lit dinner" Gloria said before she hung up on the director.

Norman growled in anger at the women's impudence, and even more at Crowner's secrecy.

"You know Osborn probably knows there's absolutely no truth in what I just told him" Gloria said as she and James made their way to the buildings ground floor.

"Well the candle lit dinner wasn't true, but the beautiful woman part was right" James said, winking at Gloria before flipping open his phone. "Security, have our guests arrived yet?"

"Yeah!" Security said.

The Head of James's security forces wore a black mask with even darker eye lenses, his black bodysuit covered his entire body, he also wore a brown harness with packs attached to his back and two customised pistols on his belt. He slammed the phone down and turned to the only two people that were going into the building. Both wore brown trench coats, one was Hank Pym, founding Avenger and current Wasp. The other hid her real flesh with the hologram of a blonde haired woman but Security could see behind any technology or disguise, she was Jocasta, female android and old Avenger.

"Mr Crowner will see you now" Security said before he opened the door with a mere motion of his hand.

* * *

They watched over the city, their forms hidden from anyone that could see them atop of the Empire State building. Their leader stood on the spire while others either floated on blue discs or under their own power. He wore scratched and marked red and gold armour with a ravaged green hood and cloak, his gold faceplate had three particularly deep scratch marks on them. Beside him was a man wearing a blue suit with red military boots and gloves, on his suit was an American star while his blue cowl had an American eagle on the forehead, he carried on his right hand a round steel shield. The third member of this team was a Skrull, wearing a red and black version of the standard Skrull uniform. After him came one of three female members of the team, she was Japanese, her skin was pale and her lips were coated black, over her white and black dress she wore a very familiar red and yellow cloak. The other female member was covered in pale purple armoured scales, with her long purple hair sticking out of the back of her head while her eyes and purple coated lips were left exposed. Another male member of the team wore a black and red version of Spider-man's signature costume while another stood out from the rest because of his disturbing resemblance to the Hulk, he wore a shoulder guard and armour on his orange shorts and had a sword strapped to his back, his long hair blew around with the wind. The third female member was African and wore a brown dress that left most of her chest and midriff exposed, she also wore a crown and a gold necklace and arm bands.

"Look at them down there, pathetically scurrying around when they don't even know what the true threat is" The Hulk Like team member said.

"Leave them be, alls they should worry about is the enemy in front of them, leave Osborn and his Dark Illuminate to the other heroes, we need to focus on creating our new world and ensuring our existence" The Iron man said. "Cap and Armoury will go to Malibu and assist the others in dealing with the Runaways, the Young Avengers are in Broadway evacuating civilians, they're Hawkeye's, the Marvel's and Black Panther's targets, I'll disrupt the Initiative's communication devices while the rest of you, minus Hulk fulfil your tasks"

"Stop calling me Hulk"

"Quiet, you will stay calm and hidden understand?"

"Why should I?" The Hulk Like man said.

"Because out of all of us you're the one who will attract the most attention, it's too early for us to operate in the open, we need to stay hidden which means striking fast, all of you go now"

"So what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Stand still and shut up!"

* * *

While this mysterious group set out to fulfil its leaders plan, the heroes of Earth continued the evacuation of America. On the outskirts of San Francisco stood a one-time member of the X-men. Because of M-Day he had lost what nature had given him, however through technology he gained an imitation of his old abilities. He was a proud but lost man, Shiro Yoshida, the former Japanese hero Sunfire. Ever since the X-men had established themselves in San Francisco he had long contemplated joining them, now he stood on the edge and knew that if there was ever a time the X-men would need help then now was that time.

He saw a white and red limo driving towards him and held his thumb out, hoping that the driver would be one of the only people actually going into the city. The Limo stopped and the driver side window slid down, revealing a grinning Driver.

"Yo, your Shiro Yoshida am I correct?" Driver asked.

"And if I were?" Shiro asked, growing suspicious of this character.

"Well you see my boss wanted me to pick you up for his new team, a team that will beat not only these invaders but Norman Osborn too" Driver explained.

"Norman Osborn, what makes you think he affects me?"

"He affects every super human and mutant…if you could still be classed as a mutant" Driver said, crossing his eyes in thought.

"Just tell me what you want!" Shiro growled in anger.

"Okay okay Yoshida-sama, basically my boss sees the potential in you to help overcome this alien threat, he thinks you can become a hero again, not just some mad scientists pawn…Gambit returned to the X-men, maybe its time you rejoined the hero community"

Shiro thought for a moment before he gave his answer.

"Who will we fight first?"

Driver laughed as one of the limo doors flung open. Shiro hesitantly got into the vehicle, visibly shocked by its inhabitants. He could sense the hostility in the vehicle and was already beginning to regret his decision. But he didn't have anytime to change his mind as Driver turned the car around and drove on.

* * *

In Westchester, the Xavier institute was recovering from the attack made by the Initiative. Xavier looked at the ruins of his mansion and sighed as he kicked at the dirt.

"It's okay sir, I'm sure we could fix this" Noah said, patting his teacher on the shoulder.

"Oh its not the money son, it's Sieg" Xavier sighed as he looked at Celeste, clutching Sieg's sword tightly.

Noah widened his eyes as he looked upon the confused Laurie Collins, dressed in little more than a grey shirt and pants. He and Hank walked up to her, practically examining her to see if she was real. Hank crawled around the girl, looking around her and then standing on his legs to examine the back of her head.

"But you were shot in the back of the head, your body's supposed to be buried here" Hank said, confused by the predicament.

"Did I die?" Laurie asked, confused by everything that was going on.

Noah looked at the girl; she was still the shy and nervous Laurie Collins he knew when he came to the institute. He cried at her funeral, he even snuck out of the mansion and saw her lifeless body being cradled by Elixir.

"Jesus, we might as well make a club" Cable said, shaking his head.

"I thought there already vas a club" Kurt said with a smile to lighten the mood.

Emma stormed towards Laurie, pushing past Noah as she planted her hands on Laurie's head. She closed her eyes and reached into Laurie's mind. For a moment she widened her eyes before she released Laurie and walked away.

"Emma what did you see, why is she back?" Hank asked.

"It doesn't matter" Emma said calmly before walking back towards the mansion.

Kurt and Noah walked to Celeste's side, placing comforting hands on her shoulders.

"Celeste I'm sure we can get Herr Siegfried back" Kurt said.

Noah nodded his head while Celeste got up off the floor, holding Sieg's sword tightly.

"Come out…come out like you did before and save him!" Celeste demanded.

"What's she talking about?" Noah asked.

"Siegfried's sword contains the spirit or at least a fraction of a hero…he helped us when we fought the Phoenix Corps" Kurt explained.

But despite Celeste's begging, the sword remained still and dark.

"He carried on your way of life, a life that guaranteed him no happiness, he would have given me up for your crusade, he never said it but he thought it…damn you to hell hero!" Celeste growled as she flung the sword away and followed her teacher.

The two of them walked together down towards the subbasement, where Celeste's sisters were already on Cerebra. Emma and Celeste put on their helmets and joined their minds with one another. The four telepaths reached out to every X-man across the world. Logan immediately made his way out of the bar he was drinking in as Emma's voice echoed in his head. Rogue and Gambit left the diner they were eating at and Maddrox's X-Factor investigations stopped their work.

**"X-men and X-Factor, there's an alien threat in front of us, right now we need to work together like we did against the Skrulls and the Phoenix Corps, some of the Young X-men have been scattered and the students have fled the institute, everyone needs to pull their weight and prepare for a full scale war"**

In San Francisco, Cyclops and the resurrected Jean Grey were already in uniform. Their uniforms were updated versions of their second X-men costumes; Scott was missing the yellow underpants and sported a grey coat while Jean was missing the yellow mask.

"Where is everyone?" Scott asked.

"Last time I saw Ororo she was out on patrol, a few moments later that rain shower hit us" Jean said.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Her husband asked.

"It's Emma's communication, I sensed intense feelings of distress from Celeste, I think something happened to Sieg"

"Sieg, damn Osborn" Scott growled.

"Are you going to do anything?" Jean asked.

"I know it wont look good for the X-men if I stormed his tower, but if Norman does anything to Sieg then storming his fortress is exactly what I'll do, he and Slayer reunited us" Cyclops said.

"They could have turned back and let that Skrull continue his charade, but they chose to stop him there and then" Jean said as she pressed her head against her husbands chest.

"Jean there's something else isn't there?"

"Yes Scott, Emma tried to hide it but it seems that…" However Jean stopped as Elixir, Darwin and Angel walked into the room.

"What's going on?" Josh asked.

"Alien invasion, we're going to wait for the others to get here and then pick up from there" Cyclops said.

* * *

Elsewhere Kid Vulcan flew after the transport truck, dodging a hail of cannon fire. The driver of the prison vehicle accelerated, drawing some distance between himself and Gabriel. Kid Vulcan grinded his teeth together, hearing that his older self was much faster than he was. But still, Sieg was a good man who didn't deserve what was happening to him, so Gabriel Summers would fly for as long as he could.

* * *

"Please make your way out in an orderly fashion, we're here to help" The hollow voice of the Vision android said as he and the rest of the Young Avengers guided civilians towards their evacuation ships and copters.

Hulkling flew down towards the city levels, carrying two civilians in his arms. Cassie Lang, the daughter of the deceased second Ant-man gave some people quicker alternatives to running out of their apartments and instead put them on the ground from their windows. Speed suddenly appeared beside Patriot.

"Most of the buildings are clear and I didn't find anyone in the alleyways" He explained.

"Good, alls we need to do is clear this block and then move onto the next one" Patriot said.

"I still can't believe we're working for Osborn Eli!" Kate Bishop AKA Hawkeye said, tilting her sunglasses.

"Right now we need to suck it up Kate…the last of the civvies are on the ship Eli" Wiccan said.

"Good, everybody lets move onto the next area"

However before the young heroes could even move one step towards their transport truck, a rocket flew crashed into the front of the vehicle, lighting the street up with an explosion. The Young Avengers looked around in complete shock; of course they suspected that the invaders would break their world. Patriot put a hand to his ear and got in contact with the teams across the city, but all he received was static.

"What's going on?" Hulkling asked.

"Sniper on the roof!" Wiccan said, pointing towards a costumed man on the roof.

"Who the hell is that?" Hulkling asked.

"I'll find out!" Speed said as he ran off.

He ran up the stairs towards the rooftops where the sniper was firing. Suddenly he stopped when a strong hand gripped his neck. Tommy looked at his attacker in pure shock, he was wearing a red and black costume similar to Captain Marvel's, though the star symbol on his chest was much bigger, reaching towards his waist, his black mask also covered his entire face, except for his blonde hair and glowing yellow eyes. The Young Avengers watched as the shooter got up from his crouched position and showed his form. He wore a purple costume, which included a long sleeve on his right arm and a fingerless glove on his left, a silver "H" symbol was on his chest, while a small quiver of arrows and Kunai were strapped to each of his legs, his mask revealed his blonde hair and a red target was stamped to his forehead, he dropped his sniper rifle and pulled a device off his waist, with one push of the button the metallic block folded into a bow.

"Whose that guy supposed to be?" Hawkeye asked, not liking the mans theme.

"A better Hawkeye than you!"

The Young Avengers looked up and were shocked to see the Captain Marvel holding an unconscious Speed. Floating beside him was another woman, wearing a costume identical to Ms Marvel's first outfit. Vision and Wiccan took flight towards the two Marvel themed figures. 'Ms Marvel' flew away from Vision with a smile on her face; she drew her hand back and threw a wave of energy at the android, which instinctively increased his durability to a diamonds level. The blast didn't affect the android, which flew towards Ms Marvel. Stature increased her size until she was looking down at the shooter.

"Whoever you are your not Hawkeye" Cassie said.

"But I will be!" The man whispered as he pulled back an arrow.

He released his grip and fired the arrow towards Stature. She caught the arrow with little effort, but suddenly clutched her ears as the arrow unleashed a piercing sound, or at least piercing to her giant ears. The attackers Hawkeye then drew another arrow from his waist and fired it into Cassie's neck.

"CASSIE!!" Hulkling yelled as Stature crashed to the ground.

"Don't worry, she's not dead just sleeping" Kate said, checking her friends giant pulse.

"Maybe we don't want you dead" Hawkeye said as he drew another arrow back and fired it at Eli, Kate and Teddy.

When the arrow made impact with the ground it unleashed a shockwave that sent the three heroes flying away from one another.

"He uses technology from the future!" Vision noted.

"How far are we talking here?" Wiccan said as he fired a surge of electricity at Captain Marvel.

"Twenty years!" Ms Marvel said, punching the Vision across the head before he could speak.

Kate Bishop got up off the floor and fired an arrow at the supposed future Hawkeye. With incredible speed and accuracy he fired his own arrow, splitting Kate's projectile in two. He then clicked a button on one of his trick arrows and fired it into Hulkling's knee. Teddy noticed the blinking red light and didn't even have time to say what was on his mind as the device blew up.

"TEDDY!!" Billy yelled as Hulkling's leg was blown apart.

"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK TO ME!!!" Captain Marvel yelled, smashing his fist into Billy's gut.

Wiccan coughed out a puddle of blood as he floated towards the ground. Patriot growled as he took a running start and jumped off of the hood of a car, tackling Ms Marvel. The two of them rolled across the ground before Ms Marvel threw Patriot off of her. Eli landed smoothly on his feet and turned back towards Ms Marvel.

"It's about time you got here" She said, putting her hands on her hips.

Elijah quickly turned around to see a man dressed in a Black Panther costume. The man pulled his fist back and slammed it into Patriot's shield, putting a dent in it and sending him flying back. Vision fired his optic beams at Captain Marvel, who easily dodged the beams and countered with a blast from his chest. Wiccan coughed as he began chanting a spell.

"I want us to be somewhere safe, I want us to be somewhere safe, I want us to be somewhere safe" he repeated over and over again.

* * *

At the same time, in Malibu, the group of Runaways were already airborne on their ship the Leapfrog.

"Great, first the Skrull invasion now an invasion from…god knows what this Karabai guy is" Chase Stein said.

"Still he has overcome the Shiar and Kree, forces not to be reckoned with" Xavin said, crossing his arms as he shifted from his human form to Skrull form.

"Hey wait a minute, why have we slowed down?" Nico asked.

"Come on you stupid piece of junk move" Chase growled.

"Maybe it just needs a little more power, make way I'll charge it up" Victor said, walking through Karolina and Nico towards the control panel.

Before Victor could even touch the panel the Leapfrog stopped. The teenagers quickly looked around before they heard a cracking noise. Suddenly the Leapfrog's roof was torn apart and the Runaways looked up in shock at who they saw, Victor especially. He wore a black domino mask as well as a suit and cape, the suit had a silver V on the chest and his hands gave off an electric blue glow. The Runaways were in the presence of Victor's future self, Victorious.

"Wow I was a skinny kid!" Victorious said to himself with a smirk across his face.

Before the Runaways could react, the ship was completely broken apart. The teens began to fall towards the Los Angeles streets below. Karolina changed into her solar form and grabbed Nico as she took flight. Xavin burst into flames and flew after his/her betrothed.

_**"Spout some wings!"**_ Nico said, pointing her finger at Old Lace.

A pair of Angelic wings burst out of the dinosaurs back. She then flew to her masters aid, grabbing the collar of his shirt with her teeth. Victor used his magnetic powers to manipulate the pieces of the Leapfrog, changing them into platforms for him, Klara and Molly to float on.

"What the hell's going on here?" Chase wondered.

* * *

The occupants of Driver's limo nervously looked towards one another, minus Slade, who was familiar with the man's obsession with speed.

"Don't you think we could slow down" Tony said.

"What's the matter Stark scared, because there's plenty of things you should be scared of besides the speed" Jennifer said.

"Stark's right slow the fuck down!" Maria said.

"I'll need a lot of speed if I'm going to get to your final team mate" Driver said eagerly.

As the limo increased speed, Driver spoke into the air vents.

"Unlocking phrase: Speed is the Answer, Password for flight module: Straight Cougar, activate passenger safety units"

Extra straps wrapped around the passenger's waists and shoulders, while clamps held onto their heads, chests and legs. On the outside, the cars wheels rotated as the vehicle began to float above the air. The hood popped open, revealing a glowing red crystal in the place of the engine. Plates on the side of the car slid back to reveal flight stabilisers while the rear lights slid open to reveal miniature rockets. The driver doors flew open as the front passenger seat was knocked out. Driver laughed as his side of the vehicle began to reshape itself, the controls of the car suddenly changing into jet controls. Wings slid out of the back and side of the limo and Driver's uniform suddenly flew off, his clothes were replaced with a white and red suit, including an aerodynamic helmet replacing his hat and sunglasses.

"ALL RIGHT PASSENGERS HANG ON TO YOUR BREASTS AND BALLS CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO WUNDAGORE!!" Driver yelled.

Tony widened his eyes "Wait a second, you don't mean…"

Driver merely laughed before his transformed jet took to the skies.

"I LOVE THIS PART OF THE JOB CAR DRIVING'S ALWAYS HAS A SPEED LIMIT AND I QUITE AGREE THAT THE ROAD CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE WHICH IS WHY WHEN I REALLY WANT TO GO FAST I TAKE TO THE SKIES BECAUSE THE ONLY TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIANS UP HERE ARE SEAGULLSANDLETSFACEITNOBODYLIKESSEAGULLSTHEYSHITEVERYWHEREANDCONSTANTLYANNOYWITHTHEIRCRIES!!!!!"

"This mans insane!" Shiro said.

"He's not insane, he's just a bit wacky that's all" Slade said.

"I didn't think there was a difference" Maria said.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Jen said, her face going pale from the ride.

While the Passenger's were wishing they had sick bags on them, Driver was more than enjoying himself. He laughed manically as he flew past jets and seagulls. The people of Wundagore looked up in utter shock as the incredibly fast jet flew past the mountain.

"Whoops I missed it!" Driver said.

He turned the jet around and flew back towards the mountain, this time at a slower pace. The passengers sighed in relief as the jet stopped.

"Get me off this thing, I'm really gonna be sick!" Jennifer said, banging on the door.

"Jesus, I'm surprised our organs haven't been crushed by the G's" Tony said.

Driver opened all the limo doors, including the windshield for his cockpit. His clothes changed back to normal as he jumped out of the jet and landed smoothly on the snowy ground of the village in Wundagore. He was soon joined by Bucky, Tony and Slade, while Maria, Jennifer and Shiro found a place to throw up. Driver grinned as the villagers stared at them.

"Stark, what's here that's got you so nervous?" Bucky asked.

"The last person we need on a team right now" Tony sighed as he walked with Slade and Driver. "I'm curious as to how Crowner located her, Driver why is your boss getting involved in all this?"

"James makes it his business to get involved with anything that affects the world, some of his friends were depowered after M-day so he made it his personal business to locate her" Driver said as he walked towards one of the village huts.

Driver knocked on the door and tapped his foot against the snow impatiently. The door opened and both Tony and Slade widened their eyes. For Slade it was like seeing an old legend again, but for Tony it was a much harder experience. She had long brown hair and wore an elegant red dress.

"Miss Wanda Maximoff I believe" Driver said.

"Yes, how may I help you" She said kindly.

Slade's eyes suddenly glowed a dark red colour as images flashed into his head. He suddenly gripped his head and yelled out in pain. The others looked towards Slade as he thrashed around.

"THE PAIN! THE FLASHES MAKE THEM STOP!!" He yelled out.

"What's wrong with him?" Wanda asked, taking a step outside.

Flashes of great battles between the original Brotherhood and X-men flashed before Slade's eyes. Then he saw the Avengers, and then their downfall. He saw She-Hulk rip apart the Vision, Scott Lang consumed by an explosion and Hawkeye flying into a ships engine. Then he saw a new, almost better world, but it was a world that others didn't approve of. He saw Wanda crying over the body of her brother, cursing her father before she uttered the words.

"_No more mutants!"_

Slade then looked at Wanda and growled as black armour covered both his arms and a pair of black scythes appeared in his hands.

"Oh this is just complete bad luck" Driver sighed.

"You…WILL PAY FOR YOUR SINS!!!" Slade yelled before he ran at Wanda.

Driver landed a fast kick to Slade's face, but that didn't sway him as he quickly slashed the speedster across the shoulder. Jennifer ran towards Slade, her skin changing to its green tone. She-Hulk grabbed the handles of Slade's scythes as he swung them down at Wanda.

"Wanda!" Jennifer said, looking at her old Avengers comrade.

"Who are you people?" Wanda asked.

Slade kneed She-Hulk in the chin, shocking her with his strength. Shiro launched a stream of fire at Slade, who span his scythes around, creating a vortex that extinguished the flames. Jen punched Slade in the stomach, sending him flying into one of the fruit markets.

"Wanda, you were once an Avenger, the Scarlet Witch…you had been driven mad because of the loss of something precious to you…then you took away what was most precious to mutants, even then you still had the potential to be a hero, the greatest Avenger there was" Tony explained while Shiro and Jen held back the berserk Slade.

"Miss Maximoff I'm pretty sure you still have your power, just tell Slade to stop and he might…might being the key word here" Driver said.

Slade slashed Jennifer across the chest and kicked Shiro in the stomach. He then began walking towards Wanda and Tony. Suddenly, Bucky crashed his metallic fist into Slade's cheek.

"All right that's enough, snap out of it!" Bucky commanded.

"SHE MUST PAY!!" Slade yelled.

"Pay for what?" Shiro asked.

"You really don't want to know" Maria said, knowing full well that Shiro would be joining Slade if he knew Wanda's part in M-day.

Slade shoved past Bucky and walked towards Wanda.

"Wanda, you were an Avenger, the Scarlet Witch…no matter what you do that wont change" Tony said.

Wanda grinded her teeth together as Slade got closer. Bucky made a step towards them, but was stopped by Maria. Slade lifted his scythes over his head, ready to finish Wanda off.

"STOP IT!!" Wanda yelled with glowing red eyes.

Suddenly, Slade's scythes and armour shattered to pieces and the glow in his eyes faded. He stood with a confused expression on his face, while Wanda rubbed her tearful eyes.

"I'm so sorry for the things I've done!" She said as she got off her knees.

"There's something on the horizon, and I think you can play a valuable part in stopping Osborn and these new invaders" Tony said.

"Wait a second the final member of the team is Wanda, how do we know she won't go crazy again?" She-hulk asked.

"Well this time her children are alive and well, plus her father's not likely to crush her brother again, she's made sure of that" Driver grinned.

"What do you mean she made sure of that?" Shiro asked.

Driver held his mouth as he realised what he said. Wanda looked at the floor, remembering the three words she spoke that decimated the mutant population. She had long tried to hide from what had happened. But then she remembered what Driver said.

"My Children, Thomas and Billy!" She said with a mixture of confusion and happiness.

'Oh god Security's right, I really need to keep my motor mouth shut' Driver thought as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

Slade shook his head at his friend's predicament before he stepped in.

"Shiro, what Driver said is something that doesn't matter now, and Wanda, what Driver means is that your children still exist, or at least the souls they were made from, they live on in two boys going by the names Wiccan and Speed, there's a likelihood that you'll meet them, but only if you help us" Slade explained.

Wanda nodded her head, followed by a hesitant Jennifer. Shiro however still had doubts.

"I still want to know what Driver was talking about, but I suppose right now we have more important matters"

"Damn right we do, now hurry up and get us to James's tower" Slade said to Driver.

* * *

Back in LA, the Runaways were on the ground and on the run as always. Victor looked out at the edge of the alleyway at his older self, and then walked back to his friends.

"I can't believe the Leapfrog's gone, and I can't believe I didn't bring my Fistigon's" Chase said.

"What I can't believe is the fact that we're hiding, he's alone, if we combine our powers we might defeat him" Xavin said.

"Xavin's right, hell all's I really need to do is decide not to become him right, if that's the case then…" But Victor suddenly paused and widened his eyes.

"Yo Mancha what's wrong?" Chase asked.

Suddenly electricity crackled around Victor and his legs fell apart. The other Runaways turned around, looking at Victor's damaged form in utter shock. Slowly an ant-sized woman grew into her fully-grown form. She wore a purple and black version of the Scott Lang Ant-man costume; she even wore a similar Ant-man helmet to his.

"Gee, Iron Warlord's gizmo realty worked" The Ant-woman asked as she balanced a control on her finger.

"Whose Iron Warlord?" Karolina asked.

"That's something you don't need to worry about Dean" Ant-woman said, pointing her finger at Karolina.

Before Karolina could speak again, a thin beam of light flew out of the Ant-woman's hand. The beam tore through Karolina's chest, and the other Runaways looked in utter shock as Karolina fell to the floor. While the original Runaways looked at Karolina's lifeless form in sadness, Xavin turned to Ant-woman with utter Fury in his eyes. His arms changed to orange granite like the Thing's and grew longer as well; flames surrounded his fists and legs while his chest faded. Ant-woman smiled underneath her helmet as a pair of Wasp like wings burst out of her back. She took flight into the air and the enraged Xavin pursued.

"YOU BITCH HOW DARE YOU HURT MY PRECIOUS KAROLINA!!!" Xavin yelled.

"Sorry Xavin dear boy but I cant let you hurt my girl friend" Victorious said as he shot him in the back with a surge of electricity.

Xavin turned his head towards Victorious and stretched his Granite fist towards him. With a simple hover to the side, Victorious dodged the attack and countered with a blast to the Skrull's chest.

"Iron Warlord was right, Karolina was the key to you controlling your abilities" Ant-woman said with crossed arms.

"When blood is shed, let the staff of one emerge" Nico said and with those words the Staff of one shot out of her chest and into her hands.

"Nico use a healing spell or something" Chase said.

"Or even better how about you shut up!" A voice said from the alleyway.

The children turned their heads to look upon the form of Armoury. Tentacles shoot out of her shoulders and wrapped around Nico, Klara and Molly. With one tug, Armoury pulled the three girls out of the alley and into the streets. She slammed Molly's face into the ground and threw Klara and Nico into the air. Old Lace ran at Armoury with her fangs bared. But a steel shield flew into her neck, knocking her to the ground. Chase clutched his now aching neck and looked at the end of the alleyway to see what looked like Captain America.

**_"Time to rock this Joint!"_** Nico said and the staff of one glowed as she fell towards the ground.

A rock pillar suddenly shot out of the ground, slamming into Armoury's chest. Multiple pillars of rocks shot out of the ground, one acted as a landing pad for Nico.

**_"Malfunction!"_** Nico used her staff again, pointing it in Armoury's direction.

Suddenly, Armoury's armour sparked and she fell to the floor, cringing in agonising pain. Nico gasped at what had happened, expecting her spell to deactivate the woman's weapon. Molly got up off the floor and looked to see her friend Klara being carried by a man in a Captain America costume. The man looked down at her, his expression emotionless and unreadable.

"I don't know who you are, but attacking my friends wasn't a nice thing to do" Molly said and was confused to see the man smile.

"Sorry Molly!"

The man suddenly smacked Molly across the head with his shield. Then he threw his shield at Nico, knocking her off her rock platform. She fell to the floor just as Armoury recovered from her magic attack.

"You little bitch, it's going to take at least two days to get my Tactigon back to normal" She growled.

Chase ran down the street until he reached a pay phone. He grinded his teeth together as he made one of the hardest decision's he had to make. Hopefully someone was still at the hospitals. While Chase called the authorities, Xavin continued to chase after the Ant-woman and Victorious.

"It's amazing how emotional you used to be Xavin, you lack the discipline and control of a true Skrull warrior" Victorious said.

"SHUT UP!!!" Xavin yelled.

Victorious smiled to himself, knowing that he had hit a soft spot.

"You're an insult to the old Skrull Empire! Karolina can't accept who you truly are, do you really think she'd stay with you if you stayed in your male form? She doesn't love you, your whole existence on this planet is a charade!" He continued to taunt.

Xavin roared in utter fury as he threw volleys of fireballs at Victorious, who easily dodged them. Ant-woman fired beam of light from her gloved, shooting Xavin in the back. Victorious then pulled his fist back and punched Xavin so hard in the face that he left a dent. Klara shot awake as the attackers Captain America bashed Molly across the head with his shield. She focused with her mind and vines shot out of the ground, wrapping themselves around the mans shoulders. He slashed the vines with his shield and threw the shield into Klara's stomach. Armoury changed her right hand into a hammer and her left into a blade as she ran at Nico. She smacked Old Lace across the head and slashed Nico's shoulder. The daughter of the Pride's evil Sorcerers rolled across the floor, keeping her distance from the purple haired woman.

"Idiotic Bitch, the Tactigon can change into any weapon needed" Armoury said.

Her hammer hand stretched forward, smacking Nico's arm so hard that it broke. Nico screamed as she dropped her staff and fell to the floor. Molly looked to her friends with tears in her eyes. She screamed before slamming her fist into the ground, shaking the city itself. Armoury shifted her arm into a laser cannon and fired a blast into the air, hitting Xavin in the chest. Nico moaned as she rolled across the floor, clutching her broken arm. She then gasped in horror as Armoury slashed Klara across the back.

"I killed you once little girl, I'm going to enjoy killing you a second time!" Armoury said as she pulled her blade arm back.

Suddenly Captain America threw his shield into Armoury's wrist.

"Cap what was that for?" She asked.

"Remember the line!" Cap said.

"Fine!" Armour pouted her lips as she changed her arm into a cannon and aimed it at Molly.

* * *

"IwantustobesomewheresafeIwantustobesomewheresafe!!" Wiccan continued to chant, faster and more desperately than he ever had before.

Patriot still fought furiously with the Black Panther, taking several hits to the head. Only half of Eli's mask was left before he took to the offensive, smashing the Black Panther across the head with his shield. The two Hawkeye's continued a shoot out, both firing arrows from their bows. Kate rolled to the side, narrowly dodging an arrow before she fired back. But the attackers Hawkeye easily dodged the projectiles with just a few movements of his neck. Hulkling had regrown his legs and grappled with Captain Marvel while the Vision shot at Ms Marvel with his optic beams.

"So this is the son of the great Mar-Vell, what a disappointment" Captain Marvel said.

"Who are you to say that about me?" Hulkling asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know half-breed!" The man said with venom in his voice.

Patriot punched the Black Panther in the stomach, who then countered with a kick across the face. Speed stirred in his sleep before he shot his eyes open. He ran off, back up the apartment stairs and onto the roof that Hawkeye was firing on. Speed slammed his shoulder into the man's chest multiple times. Much to Tommy's surprise, the man jumped off of the building.

"Marvel!" He said as he fired an arrow attached to a rope.

Ms Marvel grabbed the arrow and held it tightly as Hawkeye swung down towards the streets, kicking Kate in the chest.

Wiccan's eyes glowed as blue electricity and energy surrounded him and the Young Avengers.

"NO WE CANT LET THEM ESCAPE!!!" Captain Marvel yelled as he punched Hulkling aside.

The man flew at Wiccan, but Speed ran to his brother's aid, punching Marvel across the face. Patriot gave his opponent one more punch before he and the rest of the Young Avengers disappeared in bright flashes of light, leaving their attackers alone.

* * *

In LA, Chase guided a squadron of Hammer agents toward the scene where the battle had taken place. He widened his eyes in utter shock at the sight he saw. Xavin was cradling the wounded Karolina in her arms. Klara and Molly were both on the floor, the latter of which had most of her clothes and hair burned off, from Armoury's Tactigon no doubt. Chase fell to his knees as tears ran down his face.

"Get these kids patched up, then send them to prison!" The leading Hammer agent said, without any compassion in his words.

Chase started to wonder whether he made the right call or the worst mistake of his life.

* * *

It was a silent and awkward flight back to James's tower. The others sat as far away from Tony and Wanda as they could, while Slade was stuck in the middle, shaking his head at the situation. Driver re-entered the city, switching his jet back to its limo form. He drove through the streets casually, the Hammer agents and Initiative heroes too engrossed in finding the remaining civilians. The new team drove through the garage of James's tower, being welcomed by Security and Gloria.

"About time you got here Driver, the sun has risen and Karabai has begun his attack" Gloria said as she led the team to James's office, which had been turned into a makeshift briefing room.

"Ah Tony good to see you again" James said, giving Tony a friendly hug as the team entered the office.

"I'm out of here!" Hank growled as he stormed out of the room.

"Hold it Doctor Pym!" Security said as he slammed the door shut and blocked Hank's way.

"Why should I…" But Hank didn't finish his question as he looked upon Wanda.

"Hi Hank…I'm sorry about what happened to Jan" Wanda said sincerely.

"What are you sorry for, her death or the fact that you put her in the hospital?" Hank asked coldly.

"Hank…I'm sorry about Scott, about the Vision and Jan…I'm sorry about a million things that have gone wrong ever since I lost my children, but I wasn't myself"

"Oh and you think that was an excuse, if it wasn't an excuse for me hitting Janet then it sure as hell isn't an excuse for the things you've done, your as bad as Tony coming in here and expecting us to forgive you"

"That's going a little too far Hank, comparing her to Tony, he knew exactly what he was doing" Jennifer said.

"I never knew that all this would happen" Tony defended himself.

"How can you defend her Jennifer, after what she made you do to Vision and Janet, are you forgetting she killed Scott and Clint"

"Clint's back Hank!"

"And a fugitive thanks to you Tony" She-Hulk said.

"ENOUGH!!!!" Slade yelled.

Tony, Jennifer and Hank stopped their arguing and turned their attention to Slade, who stood at the meeting table.

"That's enough the three of you, whatever personal problems you've got get over them, whose to blame is insignificant right now…if we don't unite now, then they've already won…we're heroes of Earth, it's about time we starting acting like the kind of heroes the world, not America need us to be, not who they want us to be…so Tony get your armour on cause Iron man is needed, She-Hulk turn your anger on the enemy, Shiro if your with us then you, Wanda and I are going to need a costume, Doctor Pym…I know that losing the woman you love is the worst possible torment, but you need to focus on the threat in front of us"

The others stood with mixed expressions of shock and surprise on their faces. James smiled proudly while Security at his bosses pride in his work. There was a tap at the window and the new team turned around to see much to their shock, Songbird flying outside.

"Well, it looks like we've added another hottie to the team" James said and his watch suddenly beeped. "Oh and it's about time you met the final member of the team"

With a push of a button, a door beside the briefing table slid open and an African man wearing a blue and purple costume walked into the room. The light of the sun reflected off of his silver ring.

"Crusader, what happened to you, you just disappeared after the invasion" Tony said.

"It's a long story!" Crusader said.

"All right, now that we have a team what's the plan?" Slade asked James.

"The invaders have launched their attack, I hope you guys don't mind going to Asgard" James said and grinned as looks of pure shock spread across the faces of his New Avengers.

Next Chapter 4: A battle between gods

* * *

Hope Everyone enjoyed the chapter, and if your confused about the situation it'll be explained later. Crusader quickly became one of my favourite Initiative characters during the Secret Invasion and it just ticked me off what 3D-man, ( strangely another hero I liked, but not anymore) did to him. I dont hate the Runaways (much) but for the sake of the story they needed to take a bigger beating than the Young Avengers. Next chapter introduces Thor and is set entirely in Asgard and James's tower, so the main focus is Thor and Slade's band of Avengers.

Leave a review if you'd like and tell me what you thought of the story so far


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 4: A Battle between gods

James had left his new teammates in complete shock over what he said.

"Asgard, as in Thor's Asgard?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah that Asgard, now…"

"Hang on a minute, how do you know this?" Tony asked.

"Think about it Asgard is a place on Earth yet separate from the rest of the world, the Asgardian gods live there but they pretty much play no role within our society, people and particularly Osborn wont care if it is destroyed, but if the gods there are defeated"

"Then it'll strike fear into the hearts of the other heroes" Slade finished.

"Exactly" James said as Songbird entered the office.

Bitter looks crossed the heroes' faces as Songbird entered. She paid them no heed as she walked up to James.

"So what's your plan against Osborn?" She asked.

"Whoever said we were going up against Osborn?" James asked back with a smirk.

"Are you not planning to rebel against the government?"

"The government are just unknowing pawns in Osborn's manipulation game, or at least that's what I think" Slade said.

"For all you people know the super human registration act might have been a plan by your government from the start" Shiro said, crossing his arms as he leant against the wall.

"I don't know much about Earth politics but I do know that some politicians are the same as they are on other planets, at times they will manipulate the people in their favour" Crusader said.

"What do you mean other planets?" Hank asked.

"It's not important"

"There are loop holes in the system but I really don't think that the government would exploit them" Jennifer said.

"I think right now we should worry about Asgard and not Norman's plans" Tony said.

"Asgard!" Songbird said in shock.

"You've still got time to turn back Songbird" Driver said with a grin.

Songbird shook her head and James smiled, knowing that he had the team he needed. He led the members out of his office and into the basement of his building. Hill and Stark looked in surprise at what had been set up in the basement of the Crowner building. It was an operations room, similar to the ones at S.H.I.E.L.D.

"This is just a temporary command centre for Miss Hill and Jocasta to work at while the rest of you help Thor" James said. "Our real command centre will be much bigger, able to house hundreds, which is why I've sent Driver to retrieve former S.H.I.E.L.D. operation staff, but right now you guys need to get to the floating island and help Thor/AKA Knuckles" The Billionaire grinned.

"How will we get to the island?" Shiro asked.

"My ship the Ultimatum, not as cosy as the Quinn jet but its twice as fast and just as durable"

"I thought the Ultimatum had been damaged by the Phoenix corps, or at least that's what Sieg told me" Slade said.

"I spent days with some of my technicians repairing it, it cant fly back into space like the last time but it's got enough juice to get you to Asgard and back"

"Well what are we waiting for?" Shiro asked, growing inpatient.

"Come now Mr Yoshida you cant go to Asgard looking like that" Gloria said as she entered the room. "Super heroes need costumes" She smiled as she handed over the uniforms she had made for Slade, Wanda and Shiro.

"So you couldn't make me one?" Jennifer said, pouting her lips.

"Sorry Miss Walters maybe next time"

"Please call me Jen"

"Just so long as you don't call me secretary" Gloria smiled.

The costumes bought back memories for Shiro and Wanda, considering they were the first costumes they had ever worn. Slade merely threw his aside and walked to the hanger, where the Ultimatum was kept. He frowned at the grey and red paint job it had been given, not noticing Tony behind him.

"Impressive design your friend's ship has, I've never seen engines like that before" Tony said.

"James doesn't use technology alone" Slade said.

"Are you prepared to fight an army?" Tony asked.

"I'll fight anyone anywhere anytime, so long as lives hang in the balance, that's one reason I didn't register myself…because we're now limited to America when the whole world needs heroes" Slade said before he walked towards the jet.

"Really what was the point in me knitting another costume for him if he wasn't going to wear it?" Gloria asked James.

"That's just Slade's way, already he's the first on the ship, I suppose he doesn't want to waste any time" James said.

"EVERYONE HURRY UP AND GET ON THE SHIP!!!" Slade yelled and while Gloria smacked her forehead, James laughed at his friend's impatience.

Shiro and Wanda were fully dressed and Pym removed his coat to reveal his new Wasp uniform. Jennifer shifted into her She-Hulk form and threw off her coat, as she was second to walk onto the Ultimatum. Tony was next, carrying his armour in his suitcase. After him came Hank Pym, the new Wasp. Wanda and Shiro looked at the ship hesitantly before they too followed. Slade was already prepping the ship for launch, much to the surprise of his teammates.

"You're a pilot?" Jennifer asked.

"Taking off and flying is good…I just always have a problem with the landings" Slade said.

She-Hulk laughed…then widened her eyes, for she realised that Slade was completely serious.

* * *

The citizens of Oklahoma looked up at the alien ships in the sky. They were twice as intimidating than the New Asgard floating above the sky. Even as Hammer agents began to evacuate them, some would still linger to look up. And when they looked up, pure terror gripped them as they looked upon numerous insect based beasts and soldiers flying around the floating island, thunder crackling in the sky and blasts firing off the smaller frigates.

On the island of New Asgard, the wind and thunder roared ferociously. Even against the threat of gods, the purple and red armoured soldiers of Karabai's race showed no fear as they ran at the Asgardians.

"For Odin! FOR ASGARD!!!!" The Mighty Thor yelled as he threw his hammer into Karabai's troops.

"FOR ASGARD!!!" The Warriors and Gods of Asgard yelled as they ran into the invading army.

Swords pierced armour and blasters burned skin. The insect like robots the Invaders used to gather up the Inhumans rained down on Asgard. But these machines were more scorpion based, trapping Asgard's warriors in their pincers and impaling others with their giant stingers. Thor slammed his hammer into the ground, throwing several soldiers back. He took the blasts from the soldiers blasters and kept on fighting, hitting several of them across the head. Beta Ray Bill flew like a rocket into one of the Scorpion robots, blowing it apart. But much to the shock of Balder and the Warriors Three, the pieces of the android gathered into suits of armour, blue energy crackled inside the suits before they picked up the weapons of fallen warriors and ran at the gods. Thor and Bill took to the air, using lighting and their own hammers to blow the fighters of the invaders apart. On top of one of the mother ships stood one of Karabai's elite warriors, the group that had so easily defeated the Inhuman's and countless others.

"Gods, what an annoying concept!" The warrior said as he began floating off of the ship.

Thor destroyed one enemy fighter with a single swing of his hammer. He then blasted two more ships apart. Balder slashed one of the living suits of armour apart, grinding his teeth in frustration as they reformed. The alien invaders and their insect slaves broke through the line of Asgardian soldiers, replacing their rifles with blades. Beta Ray Bill looked towards the elite warrior, the general of this army. He pulled his arm back and threw the Storm Breaker towards the warrior. The golden hammer flew straight into the warrior's head and then back into Bill's hand.

The warrior ran his finger along the small crack on his helmet.

"My turn!" he said.

Like Bill, he pulled his fist back and much to Beta Ray Bill's shock, the warriors fist expanded to the size of Bill's body. The Warrior slammed his fist into Bill, sending him flying backwards. Thor looked in shock as the invading warrior continued to beat on Bill. The son of Odin and founding Avenger flew to Bill's aid, firing a blast from his Hammer. With little ease, the warrior flew upwards to avoid the beam before he drop kicked the back of Thor's head, knocking his helmet off. Thor swung his hammer, but the attack was blocked by the warrior's wrist.

The warrior drew his sword and slashed Thor's shoulder downwards. Thor flew backwards to avoid the blade and widened his eyes in surprise as energy surrounded the tip of the alien's blade.

"How dare thou attack Asgard" Thor growled.

"I attack because I have been ordered to, if your civilisation falls then it will bring fear to the humans, before we crash your island into the city below" The Warrior explained.

Thor looked up to see several aliens in dark robes, chanting some kind of elaborate speech. Not wanting to find out what they were planning, Thor focused with his mind and burned the six mystics with four bolts of lighting.

"No matter, we have plenty more mystics, I am Gigas, one of five generals under the command of our great leader Karabai"

"If he is so great why does he not lead his warriors himself?" Thor asked.

"He'd need not waste his time with you!" Gigas said before slashing Thor across the chest. "Ha…god my ass!" The warrior said as he felt Thor's blood on his blade.

Thor swung his hammer downwards, but Gigas caught the hammer with his big hand. Gigas delivered a brutal head butt, and then crashed his fist like a hammer down onto Thor's back.

"THOR!!" Bill yelled as his friend flew down towards the island.

Thor grinded his teeth together as he got up off the floor and brushed the dirt off his ripped cloak. He looked to the other warriors of Asgard, who were faring just as well as he was. Volstagg and the rest of the warriors three were doing their best to break free from the grip of the flying insects while Balder endured countless blasts from Karabai's soldiers.

"No, they shall not achieve another Ragnarok!" Thor said defiantly as Gigas landed behind him.

"You stubborn human, we've already won, your powers are insignificant compared to ours, and if you are gods then those who worship you are already finished" Gigas said as his sword grew bigger until it was twice the height of his body.

"Mortals are an interesting kind, their capacity for greatness can exceed even our own" Thor said.

Thor and the other warriors of Asgard then looked up. The sight captivated their eyes. Gigas however remained ignorant as he lifted his sword over his head.

"Go on just stand there, it'll make this so much easier for me" Gigas said as he swung his sword down.

Suddenly a red and white scythe span into the middle of the sword, slicing it in half with little effort. Gigas looked at the scythe stuck into the ground in shock, while Thor merely smiled.

"AVENGERS ATTACK!!!" A voice yelled out.

Gigas finally looked up and saw numerous costumed men and women falling to the ground. She-Hulk landed right in the middle of the invaders army while the Wasp, Sunfire, Songbird, Crusader and the Scarlet Witch landed in between the invaders and the Asgardians. Captain America and Slade however landed beside Thor.

"Which one of you broke my sword?" Gigas asked.

"I did!" Slade said as he pulled his scythe out of the ground.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!" Gigas yelled before slamming his fist into Slade's shield, sending him flying into Cap.

The two men rolled across the floor until they came to a halt, right in between a whole squad of the insect soldiers. Cap and Slade quickly jumped onto their feet and went back to back as the insects surrounded them. Crusader blew one ship apart with a blast from his Freedom ring.

"Don't worry guys, I've finished programming the Ultimatum to avoid the ships so I'll be right with you" Tony said as he put on his helmet.

Iron man jumped out of the ship and flew to his team's aid. He fired his repulsors, clearing away half of Cap and Slade's opponents. Cap dispatched his attackers with ease while Slade was much less disciplined about it. He smacked his opponents across the head with his shield and his scythe, controlling the density of his blade so that it wouldn't cut his enemies apart.

"Why don't you kill?" Bucky asked.

"Because I don't need to kill them" Slade said gruffly as he kicked one insect across the face.

"Maybe you could say that if you had more of a developed fighting style" Cap said before he threw his shield into two approaching soldiers.

She-Hulk crashed her fists into the ground, causing several soldiers to lose their balance. Then she proceeded to do what she did best, (after being a lawyer of course) smash! Wasp flew in between the soldiers of Karabai's army, shocking them with his electrical stingers. He dodged their blasts and slashes with ease while Songbird bombarded her opponents with blasts of solid sound. Wanda anxiously used her hex bolts to knock back several soldiers.

"WE HAVE REINFORCEMENTS! WARRIORS OF ASGARD PUSH BACK!" Balder yelled.

The Warriors Three each broke out of their restraints and ran with the other warriors of Asgard. They rammed into the soldiers with their shields, pushing them back. Sunfire sprayed a squadron of insects with fire and used his own martial arts skills to disarm some of the enemy soldiers

"PUSH WARRIORS! PUSH THEM OFF THE ISLAND IF WE MUST!!!" Balder yelled before stabbing one soldier in the chest.

"I know how to defeat the scorpions and the suits, burn their remains" Shiro said as he burned the pieces of the robotic scorpions to crisp.

Captain America drew his pistol and fired at the soldiers. The bullets bounced off their armour, so Bucky took to hand to hand fighting, slamming his robotic arm and shield into their faces. Iron man landed on the ground and punched one insect warrior in the gut. Then he shot two soldiers in the chest with his repulsors, and then backhanded another.

Thor meanwhile held his hammer high as lighting struck it. With one swing he sent Gigas flying back, rolling across the floor while his armour and helmet cracked. Gigas got up off the floor in complete and utter shock. He had conquered entire cities in single days and these humans dared to strike first, they were either stupid or brave. She-Hulk ran through the crowds of soldiers in her path, her target was Gigas.

"Sunfire, Iron man, you two support Beta Ray Bill and Thor, clear a path towards the mother ship!" Slade said through the communicator that James had given each member.

"Do you have a plan because I think Sunfire would be best clearing out the soldiers on the island" Tony said.

"I know but I have a plan that involves Wanda, she can help destroy the mother ship"

Wanda gasped in shock and put her hands close to her chest.

"I don't think I can do anything beyond pushing some of these soldiers back without losing control" she said.

She-Hulk punched Gigas across the face, and then delivered a kick to his chest. Slade elbowed an insect in the face and smacked two soldiers across their faces. He barged through squads of soldiers and walked past Asgardian warriors.

"Wanda, I knew someone like you, he had power, more strength than he let on, he could have become more powerful than the Hulk, but if he did he would have gone insane, he always had to set limits for himself, lines he would never cross both morally and in terms of his power…on a moral front, you must swear never to use your reality manipulation to change how the world works, and in terms of power, if you did, then you would probably go insane again" Slade explained, but stopped to block a slash from one of the soldiers.

He grinded his teeth together, for the force of the sword had cracked his white armour. Slade head butted the soldier before he walked on. Sunfire and the hesitant Iron man carried out Slade's plan, destroying any alien fighter that got in their way alongside Bill and Thor. Gigas grabbed Jennifer's arm and twisted it until her bones went out of place. She-Hulk yelled in pain before clicking her arm back in place. Then she cupped her hands together and uppercut Gigas's chin, sending him flying back onto the ground. She then jumped on his chest and slammed her fist so hard into his helmet that it shattered. But as soon as the helmet fell apart a shockwave knocked She-Hulk out of the crater she had left.

"What the hell happened?" Jennifer wondered as she shook the rubble out of her hair.

A slimy, almost slug like creature crawled out of Gigas's hollow armour. The creature twitched as its skin became dry. Slowly it began to grow and form into a bulky humanoid shape. A head popped out of the mass of pale white muscle, it had no eyes or nose, but it did have lots of razor sharp teeth. Its arms grew longer than its knees as its back hunched and its legs slowly grew longer. The two things occurred to She-Hulk, this creature was Gigas, and why exactly he was called Gigas. He stood half the size of a city skyscraper and roared so loud that it shook the very ground. While She-Hulk marvelled at the sight, Songbird already took advantage of the aliens increase in size. She screamed at the giant, but much to her shock her sonic scream didn't affect him.

"Nothing you do will affect me little bird, I don't have ears or eyes so I see and hear through my telepathy" Gigas said before slapping Songbird aside.

Crusader caught Melissa in midair and flew her towards the ground.

"Slade, I can attack the Mother ship, I have reality manipulation powers as well" Crusader said.

"No, you concentrate on backing up the Asgardian warriors" Slade said.

"Slade please listen I haven't done this in years" Scarlet Witch pleaded.

"NO!!" Slade yelled.

He jumped over one soldier and ran towards Wanda. Slade elbowed one insect warrior and cut one of the scorpion androids in half. Wanda then used her powers to vaporise what was left of the machine. Soldiers and insects ran towards Wanda with their weapons drawn. She thrust her hands forward and the ground suddenly came alive, wrapping around the squadron of soldiers like a carpet. Slade then dropped his weapons and changed into his completely armoured form. The armour suddenly changed into a brown and green tunic, Slade's muscles also expanded slightly. Wanda widened her eyes as he had taken the form of Hercules. He picked up the roll of grass and dirty that the soldiers were trapped in and hammer threw it off the island.

"You see what you did there Wanda, something amazing…come on, surely you can try it again" Slade said as he shifted back to his fully armoured form.

"I don't know if I can control it"

"Listen to me Wanda, before you try to do anything in this world you need to believe in yourself…so believe in yourself, believe that you wont go past the limit, that the power wont break you, Crusader will be right beside you to help, right Crusader?"

"Yes of course!" Crusader said.

"You two can put an end to this battle" Slade said as spikes grew out of his knuckles and he faced down the soldiers of Karabai's army.

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Former member of the Brotherhood, former second generation Avenger, now and then a hero. She took a deep breath before smiling confidently. Red halos glowed around her arms as she slowly floated above the ground. Slade ran into the soldiers, punching each one of them across the face.

"NOW SCARLET WITCH GO!!!" He yelled.

The Scarlet Witch took flight above the soldiers, gradually getting faster and faster as she flew through along the surface of the island. Some of the soldiers aimed their rifles at the mutant witch, but Captain America ran in, throwing his shield at them and punching them with his cybernetic arm. Songbird screamed, forcing the soldiers to cover their ears. Wasp flew through the other insects, blasting them in the eyes and knees with his bioelectric stingers. Gigas held She-Hulk in his hand, smiling as he bought her towards his moth.

"I wonder what Gamma radiated humans taste like…actually I wonder what humans in general taste like" Gigas said.

Suddenly Gigas felt and immense pain on his heel, before he collapsed to the ground.

"Take it from a guy with experience, when your as big a size as that your Achilles tendon is the most sensitive part of your body" Hank said as he grew to his natural size and landed on Gigas's neck. "Your necks also a pretty sensitive place" He said before firing a blast at Gigas's neck, knocking him out.

"Man, he was actually weaker outside the armour" She-Hulk said.

Captain America slammed his shield into the last of the soldier's faces, knocking them out. The warriors of Asgard cheered for their victory. Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Sunfire and Iron man blasted any ship or fighter that got in their way as the Scarlet Witch and Crusader flew towards the mother ship. The two of them held out their arms and focused on making their fantasies a reality.

"Sir, our controls aren't responding…AAAAGH!!!" One of the ships bridge crew yelled as his console blew up.

The navigation and weapons on the ship began to either melt or blow apart, while the fighter pilots found that their controls had suddenly jammed. Crusader flew down towards the ship, crashing his fist down on its armour a large crack ran down the middle of the ship and Wanda added to the damage, firing a hex bolt that blew up one of the engines. Thor and Bill held their hammers out and bombarded the ship with lighting.

"This is impossible!" One of the four mystics said.

"Forget them, we must complete the ritual" Their leader said.

"I don't think so!" Iron man said as he, Sunfire and Songbird flew towards the four mystics.

The mystics turned their magical power on the heroes, firing beams of light at them. Iron man took the blasts and banged one of the mystics across the head, then fired his uni-beam into another's chest. Songbird pelted the third mystic with her solid sound bubbles until he fell unconscious. Sunfire then finished the last of the mystics off with a devastating punch to the chest.

Slade walked to the edge of the island and watched the alien mother ship being blown apart. His armour shattered and he smiled, knowing that Wanda could now use her powers confidently again. Suddenly a strong hand hit his back, almost knocking him off the edge of the island. Slade leant back to regain his balance and turned around to see Volstagg, Hogun and Fandrall, the warriors three.

"We witnessed your unorthodox prowess on the battlefield today, impressive I must say!" Hogun said.

"Aye, you are indeed a fine leader as well, comparable to Odin himself" Fandrall laughed.

"You and your friends must stay and celebrate with us!" Volstagg said, patting his belly.

"You've got it wrong I'm not the leader of this team, well we haven't really sorted out a leader" Slade said.

"Still, you took command in the middle of a battle" Bucky said.

The other members of the team landed and walked to Slade's side, while Thor got to work on sending the remains of the alien ship and Gigas to another dimension.

"You inspired and showed faith in the people under your command" Crusader said, patting Slade on the shoulder.

"It was a risky plan but Wanda still managed to destroy the ship and its crew" Tony said, removing his helmet.

"Oh shut up Tony it gets the job done" She-Hulk said.

"I think what we're trying to establish is that if anyone can lead this team you can Slade" Songbird said.

"The only one who people will follow" Shiro muttered.

Slade looked to his teammates and then held out his arm.

"Let's not get too held up on whose in charge, we're a team, we fight together, plan together and quite possibly die together, if anyone has a good plan then share it, that means we listen to Tony as well" Slade explained.

Tony planted his hand on Slade's and nodded.

"I don't have a problem with that" Wanda said as she and Crusader put their hands in.

"Just so long as he doesn't suggest cloning Thor" Hank muttered as he put his hand in too.

"Ditto!" Jen followed.

"Normans up to something, and if joining this team can actually make a difference then I've got no problem" Songbird said, putting her hand in, followed shortly after by Sunfire.

The teammates nodded to one another, before Thor put his hand in.

"Thou did not think that the son of Odin would stand by as Midgard was threatened did thee" Thor said with a smile.

"You're a welcome addition Thor" Hank said.

"And if thee ever need the help of the gods of Asgard, then alls you have to do is ask and we shall answer the call" Balder said while the other warriors nodded.

Slade and the Avengers bid the gods of Asgard goodbye and left in the Ultimatum. The atmosphere on the ship wasn't cheery, but a lot better than it was earlier. Maybe it was the fact that they discovered these invaders could be defeated, that they had weaknesses they could exploit. Perhaps it was Thor, the presence of the god of thunder. Whatever it was Slade was happy, he had saved Asgard, prevented it and Oklahoma's destruction, restored Wanda's fighting spirit and had gained many allies. Things were already starting to get better.

* * *

In space, Karabai, the leader of the invading forces smiled as he sensed Gigas's defeat.

"It seems we have finally found a planet worth conquering, call the generals and tell them to prepare their armies for total war" Karabai said as he stood up from his throne. "Maybe this world can provide me with that in which I seek"

* * *

On Earth, James showed the new team of Avengers to the transport to their new base. Tony was quite shocked to see an underground bullet train line travelling from the Crowner tower to an underground base all of which had been built without him knowing. Of course James was quite flustered around founding Avenger Thor, so he left the team in Security's hands. The team's new base was built underground, with numerous steel plates as floorboards, walls and even the roof itself. Former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that had lost their jobs after the organisation was disbanded staffed it, they numbered in hundreds. The base had a main entry room where hundreds of people could gather, as well as the launch pad for the bullet train to and from James's tower. It also had a war room, training area, medical centre and rec room.

"I'll tell you it feels like I'm on Star Trek with the doors and touch screens" Jennifer said as she walked with Wanda towards the briefing room.

"Yeah and that archives area includes some very interesting information, it looks like this James character has been to space with the data he has on Skrull physiology, from that he was able to create a regeneration tank that could kick start a Skrulls healing process" Wanda explained.

"I wonder why he would need a regeneration tank for a Skrull, oh well he's still hot" She-Hulk said.

"It's good to see something's haven't changed"

"What Wanda, just because I'm a mercenary doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view of a handsome man"

The two women entered the briefing room and saw Tony, Thor, Shiro, Jocasta, Maria Hill and Slade all gathered round a table. Slade was dressed in both his armoured boots, his blue cargo pants, black and white sleeveless shirts with the red braces and his black and white mask with the red eyes lenses. He crossed his arms and looked at the map.

"All right team, it's time for us to start making a difference!"

Next Chapter 5: Preparing for War

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the fourth chapter. Next one will have Sieg, the Runaways and future Avengers and Slade as he and Tony begin planning for war and recruiting a few new members, who will they be? Just wait and find out :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 5: Preparing for war

Emma stood on the top floor of the Graymalkin building. Reaching out towards the only member of the X-men that wasn't at the meeting.

"**Kid Vulcan, Kid Vulcan…Gabriel Summers come to San Fran this instant!" **She ordered telepathically.

"NO!" Gabriel yelled as he caught up with the truck where Sieg had been imprisoned.

Kid Vulcan hit the back wheels of the truck, causing it to skid to a halt. He melted the door open and growled as he saw that Sieg wasn't actually in the truck.

"You, where did they take Siegfried, TELL ME!!" Kid Vulcan yelled at one of dazed drivers.

"I don't know, Gothica teleported him somewhere and told us to act as decoys" The driver said.

Gabriel kicked the truck before he flew off.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT FROST!!" Gabriel yelled, not wanting to hear what Emma had to say to him.

Emma shook her head as she broke telepathic contact with Gabriel. She walked towards where the other X-men were gathering. Multiple man also came with X-Factor, including Darwin, Siryn and Longshot. Cable had even called in Deadpool while Wolverine recruited Maverick.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Sunspot asked.

"If Karabai attacks then we defend ourselves" Emma said.

"Wrong Emma, we defend the entire world" Cyclops said.

"He's right, Osborn and his Initiative are only focusing on America, when the whole world needs our help" Jean said.

The other X-men nodded their heads in agreement and Emma was ready to voice her objections, before the TV screen suddenly came on. Each one of the X-men were shocked to see James on the screen.

"Yo guys how's it going, its me James"

"James…I thought you were Mexican" Bobby said, confused by James's Caucasian appearance.

"Oh that phase, well I normally take on different forms if I'm hiding out, I actually have several companies in most major cities, anyway I'm just here as a friendly voice, I'll now put you onto the leader of the "Needed Avengers" Slade Muga!" James said and made a cheering sound affect as Slade appeared on the screen.

"All right X-men, listen up!" Slade began

"We're gonna have to find a better name than Needed Avengers" Driver interrupted.

" Ahem...As you know we have an alien invasion on our hands, the whole world is going to need super powered heroes to defend it but there's also another problem…Norman Osborn"

The X-men then began to whisper amongst themselves.

"He did attack the mansion" Warren said.

"Bastards gone ahead and declared war on us" Wolverine growled.

"But I think this is just the beginning, so while some of you go off to different parts of the globe, another team should investigate Osborn and his Initiative" Slade said.

"Reform X-Force" Scott suggested.

"But with new members, members specifically gifted with abilities that make them ideal for gathering information, Rachel Summers as a Telepath, Nightcrawler as a teleporter and a spy, Domino for luck and her own espionage talents and Wolverine for tracking and interrogation" Slade explained.

"Now you're talking!" Logan smiled.

"I think that I should be part of this task force, I'm a better trained telepath than Rachel" Emma said.

"True and you've got the ruthlessness but there's a very big problem, now James is sending you a mission briefing via email, the location there is a good place to start"

"Wait Slade…what's the problem with me?" Emma asked.

Slade took off his mask and looked the woman in the eye.

"The problem is that I don't trust you!" Slade said before he cut the line.

* * *

At the base of the new rebel Avengers, Songbird walked towards a single table in the cafeteria with a breakfast tray. She paid little attention to the looks that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents gave her; she had endured those kinds of looks during her time with the Thunderbolts. Driver sat across from her, tapping his foot against the floor as he watched Jennifer get her food.

"I gotta say, being part of a team sure feels great, wouldn't you agree Songbird?" Driver asked.

"Well, it's an improvement over being in a group with a load of people who want to kill one another" Marissa said.

"How true…now let me tell you about my philosophy on food, its very important to start the day with breakfast since it's the most important meal of the day it keeps you full until lunch so that you don't eat too much then and put on the extra weight speed isn't an issue just enjoy every morsel of the meals since food is a precious resource as well as a pleasure of life…"

"Sorry Driver but I'll have to cut your rant short there" Jennifer said as she placed her tray on the table and sat beside Songbird.

"I like the old look She-Hulk" Driver said, admiring the green woman's grey and purple one-piece costume.

"Thanks Driver, do you know where Slade is?" She-Hulk asked.

"I'm not sure really, probably in his room eating alone"

"What is up with that guy anyway?" Songbird asked.

"Well Slade's a serious guy, he doesn't spend much time socialising with others and his only friends are pretty much Sieg, James, me, Security and Gloria, he's completely focused on saving lives, that's why he didn't join the Initiative he knew he'd pretty much be fighting as a soldier for Uncle Sam" Driver explained. "But I'll tell you something about Slade once you've earned his friendship then it's very hard to lose, he'll go to hell and back for his friends and it doesn't matter how long he's known them, he'd never abandon a friend" Driver said.

"Wow he sounds like a decent guy" Melissa said.

"I'll say!" Jennifer whistled.

Driver saw that Jennifer had finished her meal and got off her seat. He widened his eyes as he saw the look in her eyes.

"Wait Miss Walters, your not going to ask the guy out are you?"

"And would that be a problem" She-Hulk smiled.

"Well he's not likely to say yes and even if he does…trust me he's a pretty serious guy but when he gets mad he can get really wild"

"Oooh Wild, I like the sound of that" She-Hulk said and Marissa laughed as Driver dropped his jaw in shock and shame.

Slade stood in the library, books scattered at his feet. He flipped the pages of a book on disarming locks, reading every line and analysing every diagram intensively. Then he pictured using the technique in his mind. The door to the library opened and Bucky and Sunfire entered.

"You wanted to see us Slade?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, Shiro I want you to go to Japan and assist the army for when the aliens arrive, the main priority is getting the civilians to a safe place and I want you James to get into contact with the Avengers" Slade said.

"Wolverine's with the X-men, I'm not sure about Spider-man but Clint, Luke and Jessica will be staying at my apartment, I could also call Falcon and Black Widow, that is if Natasha isn't occupied with Osborn's orders" Bucky explained.

"Do what you can, I need more people prepared to oppose Osborn, I've been thinking of revealing myself to the registered heroes today, try to convince some of them to leave the Thunderbolts side"

"With all due respect Slade, I don't think you'll be able to convince any of them, who knows what Osborn has on the former Avengers and the newer heroes are only in it for the money" Sunfire said.

"Perhaps!" Slade said.

"Well whatever path you take we're with you" Bucky said.

Slade nodded his head before the other two men walked out.

'Sieg, are you safe?' Slade wondered.

* * *

The shape shifter wasn't the only person on the planet concerned about the whereabouts of Siegfried. Kid Vulcan also had concern as he flew back towards the mansion, where Noah, the Cuckoos and a few of the more experienced students waited. While the Cuckoos worked tirelessly inside Cerebra, Gentle, Noah, Trance and Loa waited in the corridors of the subbasement.

"Did you catch up with them?" Gentle asked as Gabriel walked into the corridor.

"Yeah, Sieg had already been teleported away by Gothica, where are the others?" Gabriel asked.

"Pixie botched up her teleportation spell, sent the others all over the place, Miss Frost is in San Fran Cisco and Professor McCoy's in the medical room with Laurie" Noah explained.

"Laurie? Whose that?" Gabriel asked.

"Someone who just couldn't stay dead" Alani said bitterly.

"Alani, that's a horrible thing to say" Hope scowled.

Loa shook her head as she walked away. Alani's current boyfriend and Laurie's former boyfriend Josh Foley was with the main X-men team and Emma had made it a point on keeping Laurie's sudden resurrection quiet. In the medical bay, Laurie laid on the table, Beast's medical equipment scanning her body. Hank looked at the screen curiously, the readings were a hundred percent match with Laurie's old medical records. He suspected that she was a clone, so he sent Cable to the graveyard to dig up her grave.

Nathan lifted the particles of rock with his TK while also using his telepathy to make the Hammer agents and police think they were guarding an empty yard. Cable looked down the hole he had made and rubbed his chin curiously. He typed the mansions frequency into his radio and called Hank.

"I think you can leave that perfect clone theory out Hank, whatever it is that bought her back must have Phoenix level power, cause that's the only thing I can think of that could heal a gun shot to the head" Cable said.

"Thank you Nathan, you can make your way to the city now, I'll stay with the kids" Hank said.

"I'm going to the area where Rockslide was thrown, I'll fish him out of the water and then get to work on finding the scattered young X-men"

"Very well, hope to hear from you soon" Hank said before he switched the radio off.

Laurie stood up on the table and looked over at Beast. It was then that she realised things must have really changed for McCoy to be back to his ape like form. Just how much had things changed she wondered, was Josh seeing anyone, were Noriko and David still together. Hank walked over to the girl, taking off his glasses and giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Please Mr McCoy, tell me what's happened since my death, please tell me everything" Laurie said.

Hank closed his eyes, took a deep breath and explained to her everything that had happened after her death. He told her of the bad times, the Civil War, Icarus's and Wolf Cub's deaths, the loss of Kitty, the Messiah Complex and the Skrull invasion. Then he told her of the good things, the X-men disbanding and reforming and the wedding of Storm and the Black Panther, the revelation of the Cyclops since his separation from Apocalypse being a Skrull impostor. He told her how Slayer and Siegfried had revealed the Skrull, Bishop's betrayal and later redemption and noble sacrifice, The Cuckoos having their emotions restored and the reverse of Vulcan's age and memory as well as Professor Xavier's return.

"Oh my god" Laurie said, covering her mouth.

Hank then contemplated whether or not he should tell the girl that Josh had moved on after her death.

* * *

In LA, the Hammer agents that had recovered the Runaways took them to a hospital, where only a few staff remained behind. Nico had her arm in a cast and was in custody, along with Xavin and Chase. They only knew that Karolina was in surgery, Molly was hooked up to a life support machine and Klara was unconscious in a hospital bed.

"WHY DO YOU HOLD US HERE! LET US SEE OUR FRIENDS!!!" Xavin yelled.

"Quiet Skrull!" The Squad captain said.

"We've already told you the whole truth what more do you want from us?" Nico asked.

"Your unregistered super humans with a history of running away, I seriously doubt you'd stick around if we took those power dampening cuffs off" The Captain said.

"Our friends might be dying and your keeping us here for questioning" Nico said.

"That just about sums it up, now sit down Miss Minoru, you really don't want to get in my face when I can just decide to cut life support for your little friend"

"You cant do that!" Chase growled.

"There aren't any police or reliable witnesses around, maybe she just died in the battle with these "costumed adults" as you put it, fortunately Osborn sees a use in at least some of you, particularly that girl from the past Klara Prast"

"Wait a second how did you know she was…"

"You've been betrayed before Stein, think about it" The Captain said before he walked out of the room.

As the Captain walked through the corridors, the remaining Runaways were left to ponder his words. A few Hammer agents walked out of one of the rooms and saluted the captain.

"Sir, we've recovered the rest of the androids parts and are keeping them separated as you suggested"

"Good, what is the condition of the other kids?" The Captain asked.

"The aliens bleeding is heavy and the surgeons are doing what they can to treat her wound, the mutant doesn't seem to be waking up either and the doctors estimate that the girl from the past will wake up, she just needs rest according to them" One of the agents explained.

"Very well, what's Director Osborn's ETA?"

"He's still in Washington interrogating the new prisoner"

* * *

At a bunker in Washington, Sieg laid out on the floor with cuffs connected his hands to his neck. He shot up and rubbed his eyes, his vision slightly blurred by the light shining in his face.

"From what I read about you I expected you to be taller"

Sieg focused his eyes, trying to make out the figures standing before him. He widened his eyes when he saw Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts Moonstone, Venom and Bullseye. Sieg struggled to break out of his chains, never losing eye contact with Osborn.

"Your abilities make you the most powerful being on the planet, you might even be able to destroy these alien invaders" Norman began, pouring himself a glass of wine. "The question I wonder is why do you hold back? You could save even more lives if you release the limits on your powers, in fact you might even be able to render those dampening cuffs completely useless"

Sieg stayed silent but kept his eyes fixed on Norman.

"Very well, I knew we'd have to do this the hard way, defiance and determination is always admirable, but those who defy great orders always fall"

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" Norman asked.

"Why…why pin all the blame on Stark, why take over S.H.I.E.L.D. why attack the X-men?" Sieg asked.

"I can't reveal everything just yet my boy, but the only way to get to you was through the X-men, so I had my hero hunters attack the mansion, all to get to you Siegfried Wallace AKA Victory Peace" Norman said and both Venom and Bullseye snickered.

"There's an alien invasion going on and your wasting your time with me"

"Multitasking is a skill many businessmen should have boy, you see boy your powers make you the perfect weapon to let loose on these new aliens and any one else who opposes the super human registration act" Norman explained.

"I'll die before I work for you" Sieg growled.

"Oh please everyone dies when they say that…it gets boring hearing it" Norman said.

"You attack my friends, declare one of my greatest heroes public enemy number one and attack a man I respect in front of the entire city, why should I work for you?"

"Because Sieg…"

"Only my friends call me Sieg and you sure as hell aint a friend of mine Osborn"

"Oh Sieg, would you really fight me when I have every American resource at my disposal, the President has been trying to shut down Quantanamo bay and mutants are starting to become a common thing in the world, just imagine what the government might decide to do with all that prison space, and lets not forget your girlfriend Celeste, love is such a rare and valuable thing, something very bad might happen to her, aren't you supposed to protect her, didn't you promise to always take care of her?"

Sieg looked down at the floor and squeezed his hands in frustration. He grinded his teeth together and thought long and hard.

"I also promised to never make her sad, I wont break my word" Sieg said defiantly.

"What's better kid, dead or upset, I prefer dead" Bullseye said.

"How about me spending a little time with that delicious looking face of hers, you'd upset her even more before I gobbled her up" Venom hissed.

Sieg widened his eyes and yelled in anger. He got up off the floor and ran at the Thunderbolts. Moonstone fired a beam from her hand, hitting Sieg in the chest and throwing him into the wall. Norman laughed at the boy's defiance, throwing the wine down his throat. Sieg's eyes welled up as he stood up.

'Please, what do I do, give me some advise, why cant I hear you anymore my hero?' Sieg wondered, wishing he had his sword.

With a heavy heart, Sieg got up off the floor and turned to face Osborn.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Sign a contract entitling you to living quarters in Avengers tower and a pay check of two million dollars a year…"

"I don't need money!" Sieg growled.

"Take it anyway, you might find a use for this after your year long service, and even then you have to be a good boy, which means following my orders, if I tell you to capture a renegade hero you do it, if I tell you to kill one of these aliens you will do it, and if you don't smile for the cameras and act like the nice soldier then I will extend your service to three…oh and there is killing your girlfriend"

Sieg contained the urge to growl at the man and let him continue.

"Then your to join the new team I'm putting together, which means a change in name and costume are required, and of course you need to give a statement to the media, a statement that has already been written and I trust you'll memorise it and make it a convincing performance"

"Yes!" Sieg said.

"Yes what?"

"Yes Director Osborn"

"Good, welcome to my Avengers Siegfried"

* * *

Slade walked through the corridors of the new base, wearing his fully repaired black and white suit. He stepped into the bullet train and pushed the button that would start the train. As the bullet train sped through the tunnel, Slade sat with his arms crossed, contemplating what he would say.

'Old Avengers are almost guaranteed, but Osborn might be black mailing some of them, unless they have been corrupted to the point where they'll just turn a blind eye to the world's problems, if that's the case then I'll have to make them see what they've become' He thought as the train arrived at the basement of the Crowner building.

Gloria welcomed Slade with a smile as he walked through the main entrance of the Crowner building. He walked out of the building, looking at the deserted city. His white and black armour covered his entire body and took shape into Iron man's third armour. He took flight, looking at the alien mother ship floating over the statue of liberty. A hatch at the front of the ship opened and Karabai's voice echoed across the planet.

**"People of Earth, your governments have refused to surrender, and since your governments make the choices for you, they have chosen war and you will suffer because of it"**

Across the planet, millions of the purple and red insect like robots were being unleashed on cities, towns, even the small villages in Africa and Afghanistan.

'Damn, they've already unleashed them' Slade thought as he sped up.

* * *

Similar thoughts ran through the minds of Emma Frost and Bucky Barnes, the latter of which was standing at the top of the still occupied DB building.

'The media must be mad if they still want to stay, then again someone needs to cover what's going on here and there are plenty of Hammer agents down below' Bucky thought.

"I want full coverage of the Initiative heroes in times square, and I want a photographer for shots of the battle for the paper…where the hell is Parker?" J Jonah Jameson asked as most of the staff of Frontline scurried around the offices.

"As much as I'm glad to be back in the old building Jonah, is there really any point in us working, things could get dangerous" Robbie Robertson said.

"Osborn wants people in times square to cover the arrival of this new team he's got, he's assured us armed escorts and airships where we can send the good news to the folks in the Negative Zone" Jonah explained, the prisons in the Negative Zone were currently being used as shelters for those American citizens that had been evacuated.

"NOW WHERE THE HELLS PARKER!!!"

"Watch your blood pressure Jonah I'm sure Peter's already out taking pictures"

Bucky got off the chimney he was sitting on and stood tall as the Falcon landed on the roof of the DB building.

"I got your message, were you able to get through to the others?" Sam Wilson asked.

"No, they're probably out there fighting by now" Cap said.

"Well what are we waiting for?"

"Not what, who!" Bucky said.

"So who do we have to hit?" A voice asked from behind Captain America and Falcon.

The two heroes turned around and Bucky smiled to himself. Standing in front of Falcon and Bucky were several American themed heroes and the Black Widow Natasha Romanoff. Wearing his black version of Steve Roger's uniform was John Walker, former Omega Flight member and US Agent. Second was the heir to a long line of America themed heroes Citizen V. To the side of him was a former Bucky, now going by the name Battle Star.

"All right people, we've got an alien invasion in front of us and an enemy hiding in the shadows, we're going to help fight the enemy in front of us, its about time we started giving not just America but the whole world some hope" Bucky said as he lifted his shield over his head and let the sun light reflect off of the star.

* * *

While across America, the Initiative teams under Osborn's control engaged Karabai's robots the whole world was under attack. Captain Britain and other British heroes defended London; the former Excalibur leader flew straight into alien fighters, blowing them apart from the inside. In Africa, the alien robots raided small villages off the border of Wakanda and elite guards were rounding up people in the capitals of Poland, Russia and France.

"Now's the time, for heroes to do what they do for the whole world" Slade said to himself as he landed on the roof of a building in the heart of the battle between the Initiative and the invaders.

He shifted into his natural form and then into Thor's original costume. The hero threw his imitation hammer, blowing a hole through one of the insect robots. Then he jumped into the air and changed into the form of Colossus as he landed on another robot.

"We have power and yet we use it for one country, when the whole world needs saving at this moment"

Slade changed back to his normal armoured form and threw his shield, cutting two more robots in half. In Africa, the insect like robots began to gather people out of their villages but in one village some still remained. The men did their best to fight back, but even with a village full of warriors, four of the floating robots still managed to either knock them unconscious, or kill them on sight. One of the machines floated towards a families hut, slashing through anyone that dared get in its way. The children hugged their mother tightly as the robot aimed its blaster at them.

They were ready to pray to the gods and enter the next world, but today they weren't alone. A black figure landed on the back of the machine and crashed its fist into the robots back, ripping out its circuits. The machine fell to the floor, limp and lifeless as the villagers looked at the one who had come to save them. Much to the astonishment of the villagers she wore a feminine version of king T'Challa's Black Panther suit and she stood ready to oppose the invaders.

"Many people died during the Skrull invasion, and remarkably only America was covered, why?" Slade asked as he slashed two robots apart.

In Moscow, an explosion lit up one of the alien frigates, drawing the attention of the infantry on the ground. Sam Guthrie, AKA Cannonball had flown straight through the ship and blew apart several more fighters and flying robots. The alien grunts suddenly found themselves face to face with a gigantic bear, they fired their rifles, not realising that they were firing at the elite guardsmen.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!" The Commander yelled as he and his men drew their swords and ran into the troops.

Across Moscow troops were being faced with images of their deepest fears, leading to in fighting. Danielle Moonstar smiled to herself as she and Karma guided hordes of civilians onto the transport ships provided to them, courtesy of Crowner industries. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and members of James Crowner's private militia came out of the transports and civilians got on in their place. The agents threw rifles to the remaining Russian soldiers while Colossus and the members of the Winter Guard led in Russian tanks.

"Once we destroy the capital ship, the invaders will lose their source of order for the attack on mother Russia, then Crowners soldiers will gain the advantage in the smaller towns" Colossus said as the tanks began firing on the ship.

In Paris, Jean, Sunspot and Iceman were already bringing into affect a similar plan to take out the mother ships while Maverick and Deadpool were leading French Military and mercenaries hired by Crowner in a rescue of the citizens of Paris, while also engaging the invaders infantry.

"I gotta say, I wish Storm was here, couldn't Scott get in touch with her?" Bobby asked as he flew through the air with Roberto and Jean.

"Scott hasn't had any progress, he's left it to Emma while he and Rogue help the Polish military" Jean said telepathically, only being able to hear what Bobby asked with her psychic abilities.

Cyclops took off his visor and decimated a horde of Karabai's grunts, clearing a path for Polish tanks and missile trucks. Rogue used Moonstar's powers to drive the simple grunts to tears while Strong Guy ran into the squad of elite warriors, giving the civilians time to flee to the transport ships. In the Middle East, Dust used her powers to full affect, consuming the grunts in sand storms and causing smaller ships to crash. Armour smashed any robot that approached the village she was protecting while Gambit threw rocks and cards, blowing the robots to pieces. The X-men weren't the only ones defending the deserts, miles away from them was James Rhodes the War Machine. He flew across the sky, launching missiles and pelting alien fighters with bullets from his gatling gun. His heads up display showed him the battle going on in America and other major cities.

"Damn, about time we had some organisation, now this is a real war" Rhodes said before Eastern fighter jets joined him in his assault on the mother ship.

Slade span around, cutting apart the grunts that had him surrounded. He pulled off a cracked piece of armour, revealing his right eye and a bit of is hair. Slade looked down at the fighting going on across the city, knowing that similar battles were going on in every state. In Lexington Avenue, Wolverine led his new X-force, each one of them dressed in the black and blue colours and red eye masks. They walked into an abandoned Oscorp factory, the place they had been ordered to start their investigation.

"Doom!" Logan growled as he sniffed the air. "Looks like we're taking a trip to Latveria, Rachel, Kurt, you two take a look around here and see if you can find anything"

"What about you two?" Kurt asked.

"Our other members will be waiting there" Wolverine smirked.

Slade slammed his scythe into the ground and took a deep breath.

"HEROES OF THE INITIATIVE! AVENGERS LISTEN TO ME!!!" He yelled.

Hero and Invader alike looked up at the man standing on the roof of a building.

"THIS WAR IS BUT THE BEGINNING OF A BIGGER THREAT! PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!!!" Slade yelled.

Tony looked at the DB's coverage of Slade as he stood on the top of Crowner tower. He crossed his arms as the members of the only team in the Initiative whose roster was chosen by Stark personally flew behind him.

"The Order, I know that trusting me is a big step to take, but if you don't trust me at least trust what Slade's trying to do, we're his reinforcements, welcome to the Avengers who are needed!" Iron man said before he turned his attention back to Slade's situation.

Old Avengers like Tigra and Wonder man and younger heroes like Trauma looked at Slade in interest, Thor Girl especially became interested as Thor landed beside Slade.

"Why do you not order the army to attack lord?" One of Karabai's servants asked him.

"A worthy opponent is one who has no internal struggle, I'd like to see whether this man can eliminate the struggle" Karabai said as he touched his chin, looking at the scene with intrigue.

"Avengers, listen to my words and I promise you, the whole world will be better" Slade said before ripping off his mask and helmet, letting the whole of America see his face.

* * *

Elsewhere, on the top floor of the Baxter building, the inside was in ruins. Computers were sparking and the kitchen and living room was a mess. The hooded Iron Warlord sat on a ripped sofa, the members of the Fantastic Four scattered across the floor, battered and lifeless. A door slid open and the Black Panther walked into the room, throwing an unconscious Ororo Munroe to the floor. Following him was the Hulk like member, literally walking through the wall (leaving a Hulk sized hole).

"Um, could you have made less of a mess of the kitchen boss man, I'm a little bit hungry" The Warlords Spider-man said as he followed the Hulk with the young African woman at his side.

"You should have seen the mess I made of the town Storm was walking in, I see now why she was considered a goddess, though only second to the next generation" The African woman said.

"Your more than a goddess T'Lila…I don't know what I could use to describe you but…" Spider-man stayed silent and relaxed as the woman pressed her lips against his.

The Black Panther squeezed his fists together in utter Fury. Iron Warlord noticed this.

"Don't worry Panther, T'Lila will be punished for the people she killed" The armoured man said.

"Wait a second boss man, she did as you asked, she got Storm here…"

"Shut up web head and let the man speak!" The Hulk growled.

"I never ordered you to battle Munroe, then again I suppose its my fault for not giving the mission to a more reliable member, one without the royal attitude…I will think of a punishment for you later, lock them in their brig, have Foley tend to their wounds, only to the point where they aren't life threatening anymore"

"I would have so liked to have fought the Thing in his prime, killing him wasn't a challenge when his stones were getting grey" The Hulk like man said as he dragged Ben and Johnny out of the room.

"His rocks weren't any different but he sure did move slower, wish I could have seen you kick the four's asses boss man" Spider-man said as he carried Reed and Sue out.

Suddenly green smoke appeared and who appeared to be the Enchantress walked out of the smoke, wearing a green furred cloak. She whistled as she looked at the wreck Iron Warlord had left.

"I gave the item to Princess Zanda, so what's next on the agenda?" The Enchantress asked.

"I want you to go to the Needed Avengers base and record the layout, then come back to me, and Enchantress…I don't need to tell you that no one is to know of your actions, use conventional means to cover your presence, no bloodshed" Iron Warlord said before pressing a button on his gauntlet.

A screen showing Slade's appearance in New York suddenly appeared.

"This is it, the heroes will wage war on a worldwide scale!" Iron Warlord said as he sat back and watched the show.

Next Chapter 6: "The world needs heroes"

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next one will feature the whole worldwide battle between the X-men, Avengers and Karabai's Avengers, and (hopefully) a few new surprises.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 6: The world needs saving

Slade stood before the heroes of the Initiative with Thor at his side. Each one of the Initiative heroes listened as he spoke.

"Ever since the Stamford incident things got worse for heroes, you may not see it that way but I'm saying it how it is, deaths from alien and super human attacks in other countries has risen, heroes, Avengers now only fight for America, what about the whole world, some of you may like being told what to do but this is the time to think for yourselves, Tony Stark has been declared a villain, why? Because he wasn't properly prepared for the Skrull invasion, your government wouldn't have been prepared for something on this scale, everyone makes mistakes whether they be professionals or otherwise, but Osborn, a former criminal is now the face of the Initiative, he's the head of a group that will fulfil the mission and damn the consequences, and already he's gathering up former New Warriors, putting people who don't agree with him away, how long until he unleashes you all on countries like Iraq and Africa, it would be the beginning of a war, the kind of war that super heroes should stay out of, we must protect not only America, but the whole planet"

Some of the Initiative heroes whispered amongst themselves.

"We're just doing our jobs, protect America and her interests" Cloud 9 said.

"Damn right, we don't need anyone in their pantyhose telling us how to do our jobs" Gauntlet said.

"I have no problem with people being soldiers if that is their choice of profession, tell me Cloud 9, did you or anyone else here dream of a different profession?" Slade asked.

Abby thought for a moment, and she wasn't the only one. Before the car accident that cost her legs, Melati Kusuma never really thought about her dreams, but after she lost her legs she wanted to be more than she was.

"The old ways worked, the Avengers answered to no one, they fought the battles that needed to be fought, saved those who needed to be saved, now what are you doing, overcrowding America while others risk their lives to defend other countries, are you saying that they are insignificant compared to America?"

No one could answer the question, not even the Gauntlet, a soldier first before he was a super human.

"My team mates and friends are out in the world fighting, heroes are those who wont turn their backs, depending on the type of hero you are you must never turn your back to someone or something in need if you have the power, I SEE AN ARMY OF AVENGERS OF HEROES WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS TO THE WORLD!!!! WE'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN FIGHT THIS THREAT! THE WORLD CANT FIGHT IT ALONE!!!!" Slade yelled.

The members of the Initiative lowered their heads and thought on what Slade had just said.

Throughout the world heroes were fighting to eliminate the alien forces. In Japan, Sunfire flew across the city, diverting the invaders attention as the army and police gathered the civilians into the Crowner transports. Shiro fired a stream of fire into the insect robots, melting them. In Iraq, War Machine coordinated with the air force to attack the alien mother ship whilst the X-men defended the far off villages. Gambit drove the truck owned by Crowner industries, his passengers were Armour, Longshot and Three multiple men dupes, one of which was on top shooting the rail gun at the Invading warriors and robots they passed by. Madrox had dressed himself in his original X-Factor uniform and carried a pair of pistols in his coat.

"Dust is already at the village ahead, we're going to take the road to the right here and drop Longshot there to assist the forces protecting the village there" Gambit explained.

"Forces, I thought the military forces were busy protecting the capital" Armour said.

"The locals would call these guys freedom fighters"

"Wait a second, we're helping terrorists, what the hell are we doing?"

"I think survival of the human race is a bigger priority than politics and religion at the moment Armour" Remy sighed as he drove on.

In the village that Gambit and his group passed, Dust used her powers to cover the civilian's escape. She then blew several of the invader grunts away and clogged the robots hinges with her sand. In the air, War Machine bombarded the alien mother ship with missiles and repulsor rays, using the Gatling gun on his shoulder to shoot apart any fighter that approached him. The air force jets and harriers lined up and fired a volley of missiles into the front of the ship. However more and more fighters poured out of the ship, overwhelming the air force with their sheer numbers.

"Damn it, some back up would be nice" Rhode's said to himself.

While a war was being fought on the ground and in the air, underneath New York Maria Hill was coordinating her S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while She-Hulk and Songbird prepared for battle.

"God damn it, we don't have enough staff to mass this kind of operation, what the hell is Crowner doing?" Hill asked Gloria.

"Oh trust me Hill after he and Security are done you'll be thanking them" Gloria said with a smirk.

On the surface Slade continued to address the heroes of the Initiative.

"I will put this forward now, I don't trust Norman Osborn and neither should you, every person with power fought during the Secret Invasion so why praise Osborn, because he saved one mans life, he merely took advantage of the situation to further his own ambition and then he pins the blame on Stark when he was never responsible…does anyone here think that's fair?" Slade asked, but no one spoke their opinion, they didn't have one. "That's it isn't it, your just soldiers now following orders, well if any of you ever once desired to be heroes then follow me"

The Initiative heroes thought over Slade's words, even as they continued fighting the threat in front of them. Slade lowered his head, he didn't expect them to answer him there and then but it still would have been good to at least have some assurance that the heroes would turn.

"Don't worry friend Muga, you will reach them" Thor said before he took flight, followed by several other Initiative flyers, including Gargoyle, Cloud 9, Red 9, Miss America and Thor Girl.

"We need to spread out, attack the small fighters and wait for the director to arrive" Cloud 9 said as she fired her blaster rifle at the approaching fighters.

"FOR ASGARD!!!" Thor and Thor Girl yelled as they flew into the squadrons of jets, smashing several apart with their hammers while bolts of lighting cut through the others.

"I don't think we're going to have much of a chance for that" Blue Eagle said.

On the ground, Komodo slashed several grunts across the face with her claws and smacked an elite guard in the stomach with her tail. The elite soldier swung back and held his sword tightly. He dodged another swipe from Komodo and jumped upwards to avoid a blasted from Vox. The guard span his sword around before slicing off Komodo's left hand. She hissed as the limb slowly grew back while the guard blocked a punch from Prima Donna.

"THOR GIRL STAY IN FORMATION!!" Cloud 9 yelled at the girl, who continued to fight alongside the hero who inspired her.

"You know Abby I think you need to get in a little closer for her to hear you" Red 9 said.

"Closer to that, are you retarded?" Batwing asked as they stared at the lighting flashing around the two hammer wielders.

Slade landed on the ground and ran into the alien soldiers, deliver fast punches and kicks to their faces. Gauntlet slammed his fist into one of the grunts while Gorilla Girl kicked another in the face.

"**I know what you fear" **Trauma said as he changed into a bulky orange lizard, with a swing off his spiky tail he impaled seven soldiers and bashed several more away from him.

The elite guard slashed Vox across the chest and stood over him, ready to finish him off. Slade manipulated the form of his armour, creating a tentacle to knock the elite soldier off of the hero. Thor stood over the cockpit of one of the fighters and smashed his hammer through the glass, crushing its pilot.

Shang-Chi smacked two soldiers across the head with his nanchaku and watched as Tarantula stabbed two more soldiers with her leg spikes. Paladin dived across the road, firing his blasters into two of the floating insect machines. Several pods landed in the city and as they opened, Nine-foot tall robots rose from the pods, their eyes glowing red as cannons activated on their shoulders and legs. The robots began marching towards the Initiative heroes, who were too busy fighting the simple grunts. Slade blocked a slash from the Elite guard and looked over his shoulder to see the army of robots approaching the bunched up heroes.

"Some reinforcements would be good" Slade said as he head butted the guard.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Spider-man swung into an alien invader, punching him until he was unconscious. Several more soldiers armed their rifles at Spider-man, who put his hands up before he launched himself into the air. The soldiers fired their guns, launching blasts of energy at the nimble Spider-man, who jumped and swung to avoid the beams. He pushed off of a wall and hurled himself into the soldiers, punching and kicking them.

'First Skrulls now weird guys in armour, maybe I should have stuck with the Avengers' Spider-man thought as he swung away from the unconscious soldiers.

Spider-man landed on the roof of a building, stopping to take a few pictures with his camera. He zoomed in on the streets, widening his eyes as he saw a blur of black and white. Jumping off the roof, Spider-man swung across the city, slamming his legs into the jaw of an insect invader. Lading on all fours, Spider-man then leapt over a hail of fire from a group of armoured grunts. He fired his webbing, covering the invaders. When he landed an elite guard raised his sword, ready to slash Peter across the back. But suddenly, the guard was kicked across the back of the head, sending him tumbling to the side.

"Thanks Black Cat, good to see you" Spider-man said, blushing underneath his mask as he looked upon the cat burglar turned mercenary.

Black Cat was still as beautiful as ever; wearing her usual revealing attire, with the white fur across her arms and legs. She smiled as the two of them fought the grunts that surrounded them. Spider-man grabbed the Black Cat's hand, swinging her round, kicking several grunts across the face. The Black Cat then wrapped her arms around Spider-man's legs, gripping the back of his head.

"Spider…I cant tell you how good it feels to see you, since we're being invaded maybe we could keep each other company" She said, causing Peter to blush deeply.

"Listen Cat, we don't really know anything about one another, I don't think the end of the world is the best time to be doing this"

"Then when would a good time be?" She asked, licking her lips at she gripped the edge of Peter's mask.

Suddenly Spider-man's senses went off. Peter flew Black Cat upwards and back flipped, avoiding the swing of a glowing red sword. The Elite Guard had just gotten up off the floor, holding his sword outwards. Black Cat fired her grappling hook, swinging to Spider-man's side.

"That was rude" She said.

The Elite Guard ran at the two heroes, swing his sword horizontally. Both heroes ducked, avoiding the blade. Spider-man and Black Cat swung their fists upwards, hitting the Guard's jaw and knocking him to the ground. He quickly flipped back to his feet, rushing at Spider-man. Peter barely had time to react, dodging a slash at his shoulder. Spider-man swung his fist at the guard, who blocked the punch with his hand, elbowing the masked hero in the face. The Elite Guard then thrust his sword forward.

"SPIDER!!" Black Cat yelled.

Felicia dived forward, pushing Spider-man away. The blade pierced her chest, causing her to cry out in pain.

"CAT!!" Spider-man yelled.

The Elite Guard kicked Black Cat in the chest, sending her flying into Spider-man's arms. He jumped onto the wall, running up it as he attempted to get away from the soldier. But the Elite Guard swung his sword round, releasing a brief line of red light. Suddenly the building began to collapse from the bottom. Spider-man quickly shot a web out and swung away as the building slammed into the ground. The Elite Guard tore through the rubble. He sheathed the blade, and then put his hand to his helmet's ear.

"General Kin…I have a sample but I don't think it will make a difference, I will go to where the main battle is taking place" The soldier said before taking flight towards the battlefield.

Spider-man swung through the city as fast as he could, trying to find a hospital or some kind of ambulance.

"Oh no this cant be happening, stay with me Cat" Peter said.

His eyes lit up as he saw multiple Ambulances, most of them guarded by people in S.H.I.E.L.D. armour. He landed beside one of the agents.

"Is there a stretcher free?" He asked.

"Spider-man, yeah we've got some available, they'll take her to a safe place, I suggest you get to where the main battle is taking place, once there get to a guy named Slade or Thor" The Agent explained, taking Black Cat in his arms.

"Why?" Spider-man asked.

"Trust me if your against Osborn you'll want to follow Slade" The Agent said before rushing Black Cat to an ambulance.

* * *

In Japan, Sunfire shot down several alien fighters, while at the same time dodging beams launched by the alien grunts. He dived towards the ground, bombarding the grunts with bombs of fire. Shiro turned his head towards the mother ship, cursing as he saw more and more fighters flying out of the plane. He was about to fly forward when suddenly; one of the fighters was blown out of the skies. Sunfire looked towards one of the skyscrapers and gasped as he saw a blonde haired woman, wearing a red jacket with a blue purse and carrying of all things a rocket launcher. She was a Japanese heroine who went by the name Honey Lemon. Her purse contained portals to multiple dimensions, allowing her to store countless items for whatever situation she faced.

Sunfire flew downwards, widening his eyes as he saw several grunts being cut down by a Japanese boy wearing a blue shirt. He carried a traditional katana and created some kind of energy sword, slashing any alien that approached him. Shiro then turned his head slightly to see the ghostly image of a red dragon. The image was created by a boy in street clothes, smashing apart the alien scorpions with his bare hands. He saw a girl in yellow and black armour running towards a group of insect aliens. She jumped forward, changing into a yellow ball of energy as she yelled out her name.

"GO GO TOMAGO!!!"

She created an explosion as she slammed into the group. Sunfire looked up and crossed his arms as he saw a white and green mecha crushing a group of alien fighters. On top of it's shoulder as a Japanese teenager wearing glasses.

"_Hiro-san, what are you doing here?" _Shiro asked the boy in Japanese.

"_Shiro-san, we're the new Big Hero 6 and we're here to help" _The boy genius said as his mecha flew into battle.

Shiro shook his head before he too flew into battle.

* * *

In New York, the battle continued, being witnessed by a trio of Karabai's elite generals, the same armoured men who had taken Attilon.

"So these are the guys who beat Gigas, I can't believe that weakling" One of them said, his visor glowing a deep blue colour.

"Don't worry Denatsu, even without Meijin to lead us we can still defeat these pathetic humans" Said another, whose visor glowed a metallic colour.

"Don't make the mistake of underestimating them Kin, these humans have prevailed time and time again, we must not make the same mistake other species have made" The Final ones visor glowed a grey colour.

"Whatever Gijutsu, you two do what you do best and I'll just wipe these pathetic humans off the face of the planet" Kin said.

Slade swung his scythe round, knocking several grunts down, and then turning to the approaching mecha army. Gauntlet smashed one insect invader across the head, watching as Slade took a step towards the mechas. Constrictor lashed his tentacles around, striking any invader that approached him. Slade looked around the battlefield, raising his eyebrows as he saw the countless members of the press.

'Now why would there be this many media companies covering the war? What are you up to Osborn?' Slade thought.

The Mechas readied their cannons and Slade braced himself for an attack. But before they could fire, a yellow and blue blur crashed into the mecha's, creating an explosion that threw them forwards. The heroes widened their eyes in shock as the yellow clad hero the Sentry flew out of the crater he had left. He then proceeded to rip the robots apart one by one, moving at speeds that only Slade could keep up with. Slade looked up and widened his eyes before glaring at the figures he saw floating above the battlefield. Ares and Noh-Varr weren't a problem for him; it was the others, dressed in the costumes of his fellow heroes. He knew who they were, and it sickened him. Slade knew why the press was here, to bare witness to the first battle of Osborn's Avengers. Osborn was dressed in a suit of armour resembling Iron mans but with Captain America's colour scheme. Moonstone now wore Ms Marvel's original costume while the son of Logan Daken wore the brown version of his father's costume. Slade knew that the Black suited Spider-man was Venom, Osborn must have figured out a way to make him appear friendlier. It was the new Hawkeye that really made Slade angry. Slade knew that the Thunderbolts had Bullseye, and now Osborn had turned that murderer into his own Dark Hawkeye.

"No need to worry people, the Avengers are here!" Osborn said, smiling underneath his helmet.

Slade glared at the Iron Patriot, gripping his scythe tightly. He hesitantly jumped onto the rooftop, watching as Osborn's Avengers went into battle. They fought without mercy, just as Slade had expected. Daken growled as he sliced the alien soldiers apart, while Bullseye fired volleys of arrows into their vital organs. Despite the brutality of these "Dark" Avengers, the Initiative still fought by their side. If these people knew who Hawkeye really was would they doubt Osborn at all? That was a question that lingered in Slade's mind. Though he took some comfort in knowing that across the world, heroes were defending their homes.

War Machine fired a hail of missiles onto the alien ship, cursing as his ammo was running low. An alien fighter flew at Rhodes from behind, firing its collection of missiles. Rhodes swung round, bringing his hands up to block the hail. Suddenly, a hail of beams slammed downwards into the missiles. War Machine looked up, widening his eyes at what he saw.

In New York, Norman adapted well to his armour, blowing off the heads of the alien grunts. The face of his second in command appeared on his screen.

"Miss Hand, what's the situation on our secret weapon?" Norman asked.

"Hesitant as you expected sir, but he's not the problem, there's been a situation at the tower" The woman said.

"What kind of situation?" Norman asked.

James Rhodes, despite his military training couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he imagined Osborn's reaction. Not only was Avengers tower wrecked, but also every suit of armour that Norman worked so hard to gain access to was now fighting in the one place that Norman never intended to send them. The fifty suits that Tony himself had designed were currently pushing themselves against the top of the alien capital ship, slowly pushing it towards the sands below.

"WHO IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE DONE SUCH A THING!!!!" Norman yelled, unleashing the fury of his armours flamethrowers.

The helpless invaders could only scream as the former Goblin burned them all to death. Karabai's generals watched the fighting with great interest.

"Our enemy is clearly pissed off" Kin said.

"Noted, although it may not be reason enough to retreat" Denatsu said.

Thor and his female equivalent threw their hammers into the invaders mechanised units, smashing them apart. Noh-Varr fired his blasters, shooting several invaders in the head. Spider-man landed on one of the rooftops, widening his eyes as he saw a black version of him fighting amongst the Avengers.

"Please don't be a clone" He whispered.

The web head then turned his head towards Slade, who was standing on the roof of a building. Spider-man shot out a web, swinging to Slade's side.

"Yo, I'm assuming that your Slade" Spider-man said, scratching his head.

"They're lost, all of them, they can't see that these Avengers aren't the kind of heroes needed" Slade said, his voice strained as he squeezed his hands into fists. "Damn you Osborn!" His eyes glowed a fierce blood red colour.

"NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL AN ASS KICKING!!" Armour yelled, watching the army of Iron men push the alien ship into the sand.

The crew of the ship began to prepare their weaponry as War Machine and the Iron men bombarded the ship with missiles. They quite literally blew holes in the ship as sand began to fly into the bridge. The crewmembers all gagged as the sand went up their noses. Gradually, the sand particles began to gather into a sand storm that flew through every inch of the ship, knocking back every member of the crew. Gambit drove his jeep towards the ship, throwing two cards into the heads of two insect creatures. He jumped off of the jeep and called Dust on his radio.

"Dust, get out of there now" Remy said, pressing his hands against the ships hull.

If Sooraya had eyes in her current form, she would have widened them as she flew away from the ship. The alien ship began to glow a pink colour as Gambit poured kinetic energy into the ships alloy. Sweat run down his face as he took his hands off and ran to the jeep.

"You're not going to escape the explosion with that piece of junk!"

Gambit looked up, grinning as War Machine floated towards the ground. Rhodey grabbed the Cajun as he passed out. Without a seconds hesitation War Machine took to the skies, for seconds was all he would have. The crew of the alien ship looked at their instruments, blinking with confusion at the pink glow. If they had a god then there was no time to pray before the entire ship blew up. Practically every human life in the Middle East saw the magnificent explosion.

"Gambit, Gambit are you there?" Armour asked across the radio.

"He got out, he had to have gotten out" Longshot said.

But the only reply for the X-men was static. Sooraya dropped her head with sorrow as she changed back into her human form. But then they heard a voice across the radio.

"Anyone out there lost their Cajun" War Machine said, flying out of the clouds with Gambit in his arms.

Armour and Dust sighed with relief while Longshot grinned.

* * *

In New York, Slade put his hand to his ear, contacting Thor.

"We've only got two people now, lets regroup before Osborn tries turning his anger on us" He said.

"I do not fear Osborn!" said Thor as he bombarded an alien ship with lightning.

"That doesn't matter, right now we can't afford to get into a three way battle, lets just cut our losses and go" Slade said, lowering his head as he began his flight off of the roof.

Spider-man shrugged his shoulders, knowing he was better off with Slade than he was with Osborn. Thor and his female counterpart gave up their assault on the alien ship and followed the man they had both sworn to fight for.

"Time for a hasty retreat it seems" Gijutsu said.

"True, but we can leave the rest here, if those weaklings are lucky they'll probably kill at least one of these "heroes"" Kin said.

"I've got no problem with that" Denatsu whispered before the three of them disappeared, leaving their ground forces to be decimated by the Initiative.

* * *

Logan landed the minijet in the Latverian Mountains. Domino was surprised over the lack of villages; in fact the only thing that remained of Latveria was Doom's castle. Wolverine wasn't even going to waste his time thinking about how Doom had rebuilt his castle. He and Domino walked down the mountain path, their senses on high alert. Logan sniffed at the air, widening his eyes as a familiar scent stung his nostrils.

"DOMINO GET DOWN NOW!!" Logan yelled.

Domino dived to the floor as a metallic disc span past her. She rolled onto her back, pointing her pistols at where the disc had come from.

"DOMINO DON'T!!"

But Logan's warning was too late as the pale woman fired her pistols. The bullets merely bounced off of their attackers armour. He took a step forward, red energy surrounding his hands, giving the X-Force members a clearer view of his armour. His armour was white and red and covered every inch of his body. A red diamond shaped visor covered his eyes while two diamond massive crystal blades stuck out of his back and shoulders.

"X-men Wolverine and Domino, I Hammer agent Aeon herby arrest you for opposing the super human registration act" The Armoured warrior said as he walked towards the two X-men.

'Sieg, what on Earth are you doing?' Logan wondered before Sieg flew forward.

Chapter 7: Success and doubt

* * *

hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, feel fre to leave a review and tell me what you thought about it. In this Morganna didnt attack Doom, though next chapter will take some parts from the beginning of Dark Avengers #3. Also next chapter we'll see more of the Runaway's, the Dark Avengers and a fight between Wolverine and Sieg Osborns version of Aeon (an OC and the main hero of my MArvel Universe series).


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 7: Success and Doubts

_Westchester, the woods surrounding the mansion_

_He sat with his legs crossed, his hands resting on his knees and his eyes closed. In front of him was the sword that protected him, inspired him and guided his path. It took on two forms, one of a red and white broadsword, but when he unleashed a fraction of his true power it would grow larger and take on a crystallised form. The light it would give off in that form always bought him hope. But there was a third state, one that very few would see. In this state, Sieg gained no additional power; it only served as something to guide him. He breathed deeply, taking in the fresh air and the aura of red the blade emanated._

_But his eyes suddenly shot open as he felt a pair of soft arms wrap around his neck._

"_Celeste!" Sieg said, turning his head only slightly to take in the sight and scent of her blonde hair._

_She was wearing a blue tank top that clung to her chest, leaving her belly and midriff exposed; she also wore a pair of even tighter shorts. Sieg wasn't as Naïve as the hero who drove him. He knew what the Stepford Cuckoo was trying to do. Getting up off the grass, Sieg looked at the beautiful blonde haired girl. He slipped off his gloves, and then threw aside his shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran his hands across her chest. The two of them gently kissed one another before they fell sideways to the grass. She smiled as he laid kisses across her neck, running her hands across his strong arms. They passionately kissed one another, their tongues wrestling, even as Sieg's phone rang._

"_**I think they want you at work" **__She sent via telepathy._

'_They don't matter to me right now, only you do' He thought, running his left hand across her leg._

_But then he heard a voice, a voice that guided him. It said, "save them, they're in danger". Sieg didn't question it, he would ignore his job and he would even ignore Celeste if it meant saving a life. He separated from his lover, grabbing the sword and covering his body in the armour, but he kept his face exposed, just to show her how much he hated this._

"_Some thing's come first right?" She asked._

"_I don't want to but I have to, but when we do have time and we finally do…you'll be my first" He said._

_The two looked at one another, their thoughts of love were theirs alone, and no one else could have them._

* * *

Wolverine knew that Sieg was powerful; he didn't need a keen sense of smell to tell that the boy was nervous. Maybe it was the fact he was facing the best there is, maybe he was nervous about living up to the name he now bore. Or maybe it was because Sieg didn't want to fight but had no choice. Logan relaxed his hands, but Domino wasn't one to suspect. She cocked her pistols, but before Logan could order her to stand down, Sieg rushed forward.

"SIEG STOP!!" Logan yelled.

"RIGHT NOW I'M AEON!!!" Sieg yelled, holding back the tears forming underneath his helmet.

He grabbed Domino by her neck, striking her chest with the palm of his hand. She fell to the floor, coughing and rolling in the dirt. Wolverine growled before popping out his claws. He rushed forward, intending to reach Sieg through battle.

'Just back down, just surrender' Sieg thought as Wolverine rushed forward.

Not even his armour could defend him against Wolverine's claws. And if he died who would protect Celeste. He remembered what Osborn had told him, "no holding back, even against old friends". With a heavy heart, he revealed a small fraction of what Osborn suspected he kept at bay. Domino gasped in shock as Sieg fired a magnificent red beam from his hand. The blast slammed into Wolverine, pushing him and lifting him into the air. Like a rocket, Wolverine was launched far off into the sky.

'Please let his healing factor be as strong as its made out to be, please don't let me be the one to kill Wolverine' Sieg thought as he approached Domino.

He raised his foot and closed his eyes as he stomped the X-woman's head.

* * *

**What was he doing here? He wondered everyday, he may have acted but inside he always wondered for a mere moment. People lived their lives, they fought, they lost or won and either way cherished the small lessons they learnt. Or that's at least what he thought, could things really change. For now, he wouldn't question what he could do, he could save lives and that would be exactly what he continued to do.**

"**You want something to drink son?" The Barkeeper asked him.**

**He looked up at the tall man, waiting for him to place his order. This wasn't his kind of place, but he stayed because he knew that on a day like this there was bound to be someone trying to start a fight. The barkeep didn't want any trouble, he was just trying to run a business, and he didn't try to stop the drug dealers because it would get him serious trouble. He was as honest as a man could get these days, and the man known as Slade Muga decided to reward that honesty.**

"**If you wouldn't mind I'd a glass of milk please" Not the most "masculine" or "grown up" of orders, but he preferred the descent qualities of milk as opposed to alcohol. **

**The barkeeper snorted for a moment before he took a glass. Slade's eyes remained focused on the TV for a mere moment, and the report the Daily Bugle was giving would be one that caught everyone's attention.**

"**Wait, sir could you turn that up for a moment?" Slade asked.**

**The barkeeper did as he was asked; for it was a report he wanted to hear as well. Stamford Connecticut had just suffered one of the worst super human disasters in the history of the Earth, one that would bring about a civil war. Even more doubts would fill Muga's mind.**

* * *

It was a bitter return to the underground base. Slade sat on his own, away from the two new recruits. While Victory had been achieved in the Middle East and Tony had gained fifty suits to make up for the loss of his Extremis abilities, Slade still felt that the team had lost more than it had gained. He was the first off the train, walking straight past Tony and his new recruits, the Order.

"What happened?" Tony asked Thor.

"I fear that Slade's spirit has cracked, Osborn has formed a mockery of the Avengers" Thor explained.

"Damn you Osborn"

Slade walked through the corridors of the base, nodding to several agents. He opened the door to his room, raising his head slightly as he saw Wanda sitting at his desk. She fidgeted slightly as Slade walked inside. He reached for a base containing his original costume, then looked at himself in the mirror, pulling the strands of his long hair.

"Slade can I talk to you?" Wanda asked.

"What's on your mind?"

"Its about Thomas and William"

Slade lowered his head, dragging his hand down the mirror.

"I'll help you look for them" He said.

* * *

"Offering your help doesn't do a lot when we can't actually get Cerebra to work properly" Emma said to Cable, tapping her foot against the floor.

"Well for starters I could interface with a satellite and track them that way, we were lucky enough to find Sooraya in the desert, and I managed to fish out Santo, we don't always have to rely on you, or are you in a Strop because Cyclops doesn't sleep with you anymore?" Cable asked, crossing his arms, sternly looking at the headmistress.

"I'm "in a strop" because my students boyfriend is missing, there's an alien invasion on our doorstep and one of our dead students is no longer dead"

"Plus you don't have my father, and am I going out a limb to assume your not glad this Collins girl is back, I never met her till today but from what I heard she was…is still a sweet girl"

"Do yourself a favour and shut up Nathan" Emma growled, walking past the white haired man.

Cable frowned at Emma as she walked back into Cerebra; Xavier had given up the search and was already on his way to James Crowner's base in New York. Xavier had left Laurie alone, leaving the truth behind her resurrection in Emma's mind. But Cable wasn't going to leave it alone, and it seemed that was the case with Phoebe as well.

"Phoebe, get back in here!" Emma called from Cerebra.

"We're wasting our time, how about actually going out and looking for them" Phoebe said, throwing back her hair as she walked past Alani, Hope and Nezhno.

"I cant stand this, just waiting, my home land is under attack, I want to help my king" Gentle said, his tattoos glowing as he spoke.

"What about my boyfriend, why can't I go and see him?" Alani asked.

"Second question Josh needs to work, first question your not ready to go into a full-scale war Gentle, but don't worry T'Challa isn't alone" Cable said.

* * *

In Wakanda, the new Black Panther crept across the jungles, digging her claws into the throats of the invaders foolish enough to go into her territory. But just on the border of Wakanda, a drop ship made by Crowner dropped off two figures. They pulled out their parachutes, landing slowly to the ground. Upon making contact with the dirt, they were immediately caught in the storm of bullets fired by Karabai's grunts. Clipping off their chutes, Natasha and Bucky ran forward. Throwing his shield, Bucky knocked back two grunts before shooting two more in the head with his pistol. Natasha threw four grenades, sending a group of soldiers flying backwards from the explosion triggered. She fired the pair of Uzi's she carried, dropping grunts like they were flies.

In Scotland, Canada and Germany, the heroes gathered by Captain America began their work. Falcon flew through the streets of York, taking notes of the enemy positions. He had doubts on what he was about to do, but he realised that in this war, the job he had now taken was the best choice for him. Scouting, spying and picking out the enemies soft spots was natural for a flyer like Sam. He relayed the enemy positions through the radio, ordering the Army gun ships to fire. In Canada, Sasquatch ran into the invaders, slashing their throats, tearing their arms off with his bare hands. Battlestar and US Agent fought alongside one another, bashing invaders across the head with their shields, whilst Arachne tied up a group of grunts with her psionic webbing. In Germany, Citizen V led German troops into battle, contradicting his ancestry.

Captain America struck one more grunt across the head before throwing his shield, cutting an insect alien in half. Bucky wasn't used to the kind of fights that super heroes fought, so he slightly welcomed a war. He was a soldier, but then again, so was Steve and he became the greatest hero on the planet. The Black Widow and Captain America ran into the jungle, chasing after the group of fleeing grunts. Upon entering the jungle, the two soldiers slid to a halt, the alien soldiers were all laid out across the floor, vicious slash marks across their throats and chests.

"They invaded our territory, so they paid the price for their boldness"

Bucky and Natasha looked up in the trees and widened their eyes at whom they saw. The New Black Panther, one that intended to defend Wakanda with everything she had.

"Where's T'Challa?" Cap asked.

"He has information that your Avengers will find very valuable, please come with me" The Black Panther said as she leapt onto the grass.

Bucky turned towards Natasha, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Natasha, I need you to stay and support the local militias against the invaders, those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will also need someone to get them organised" He explained.

"Don't worry James, I will do my job, just make sure you be careful and don't do anything rash" The Russian spy said.

Bucky simply nodded, there would be no kisses traded between the two, merely salutes. Right now they were soldiers fighting a war, and they would both do their part. The New Captain America began to follow the New Black Panther, knowing that she would take him straight into the heart of Wakanda.

* * *

Slade and Wanda walked through the corridors of Crowner's base. While Wanda was dressed in her usual red costume, Slade wore a military styled black suit with gloves. Thor and Thor Girl both landed on the ground, standing in their way.

"Slade, do thou wish to tell us where he goes?" Thor asked.

"Wanda and I have to find the Young Avengers Thor, right now we need to gather more allies for a potential fight with the Initiative" Slade said.

"And who will you leave in charge?" Thor Girl asked.

"I'm not the leader of this group, I cant lead you guys, from the top of my head there are two men here who are top candidates for leading the Avengers, Hank Pym and Tony Stark, before I go I'm going to find them and tell them to do what they think is the best course of action to take…and of course to cooperate with one another"

"Easier said than done as they say, thy former comrades have much bad blood between one another" Thor said.

"Yes…but I can still count on you or James to come up with a plan if they don't get along"

Thor bowed his head as Slade and Wanda walked away. They stepped into the rec room, where Crusader, Songbird, Driver and Gloria were watching a news report. Slade narrowed his eyes as he looked upon Osborn's new Avengers. His suspicions were also confirmed as the Iron Patriot lifted off his helmet to reveal Osborn, grinning underneath.

* * *

"Who in the world are these so called Avengers?" Ms Marvel asked aloud, watching the scene with the other New Avengers.

"Honestly I don't even care, I just know I really, really want to slap each and everyone one of them" Clint Barton said, pointing his finger at the screen.

"I recognise Ares and Sentry, so I suppose it's safe to say that those two are complete sell outs" Iron Fist said.

"Sentry should be committed to an asylum, preferably off world, and Ares is just doing that god of war thing he does" Luke Cage said.

"Thor Wannabe!"

"Lets see you say that to his face Clint"

"I will, I'll go right up to his face and say it"

"That's Marvel Boy…or whatever he called himself, he was pretty useful with the Skrulls but who are the others?" Iron Fist asked.

Luke put a hand to his chin; Osborn had control of most of America's super humans. But whom would he put on his own personal team, there was only one group of people he would have absolute control over. Then Luke pointed at the screen, a frown spreading across his face.

"I know who they are, those are the fucking Thunderbolts!" The Former hero for hire growled.

"So wait that means…" Clint frowned as he realised who was dressed in his costume "Bullseye, that's Bullseye dressed as Hawkeye, the crazy assassin Bullseye" He said, pointing at the screen.

"Your dressed as Echo, which makes me wonder where Maya is" Iron Fist added.

"Who is Maya?" Mockingbird asked, looking at Clint who merely crossed his arms and turned his head away.

"So his Ms Marvel must be what's her name, the one with the moonstone"

"Moonstone, that Spider-man must be Venom, I wonder how long he'll go without biting some one's arm off" Jessica said.

"So whose the Wolverine?" Ms Marvel asked.

"No idea, maybe we could ask Logan when we see him" Iron Fist suggested.

"Where is Logan anyway?" Spider-woman asked.

* * *

Meanwhile in the rebel Avengers base, Slade narrowed his eyes as Norman began to address the crowd of reporters.

"Members of the press, people of America and all other victims of this war, I promise you that my Avengers and I will do everything within our powers to put an end to this conflict as quickly as possible, Karabai tells us that this war will end in Seven days, Five days remain and in five days the war will end, with Karabai's arrest or defeat, I assure you all there will be no more casualties, your Avengers will win the day, now there is one final member I have to introduce to you all…people of the planet, meet your saviour Aeon"

Slade widened his eyes in complete shock while Driver spat the juice he was drinking onto the screen.

"Wipe that stuff off now!" Slade ordered.

Crusader took off his glove, wiping the liquid off of the screen while Songbird and Gloria frowned at the sheepish Driver. In Times Square, Norman smiled as the cameras began flashing at the new member. Sieg landed beside Norman, he still had his helmet on, hiding the shamed features across his face. Slade grinded his teeth together, his eyes taking on a fierce red glow.

"Who the hells Aeon?" Luke Cage asked the New Avengers, who simply shrugged their shoulders.

* * *

In LA, the surviving Runaways all had similar reactions as they looked at the TV screen, one of the only luxuries they had been granted.

"Who the hell is Aeon, seriously I never heard of him" Chase said.

"Whatever, the adult issues aren't our problem, right now we should be more worried about what that Iron man/Captain America rip off is gonna do when he gets here" Nice explained.

"Indeed" Xavin nodded.

"Yeah I'm all up for concern but the real issue is this traitor business, I'm just gonna put this out there but I accuse the Skrull" Chase said with a grin.

"Honestly I'm getting tired of the name Skrulls, no offence Xavin" Nico said.

"Aye, indeed I too grow tired of the issues surrounding my race, but do not dwell on a traitor, unlike your friend Alex we all share strong bonds with one another, I would never betray any of you and I am sure none of you would betray the others" Xavin explained, bringing smiles to Nico and Chase's faces.

"Yeah your right, just some adult scheme to get us to doubt one another, we've been through too much to sell one another out now" Chase said.

The door suddenly creaked open and the hospitals chief of medicine walked into the room.

"Your friend Klara Prast is awake now, if you wish to speak to her then you are free to" The Doctor explained.

"Wait Doctor how is Karolina?" Xavin asked.

"That's the blonde haired girl in surgery right, the surgeons are still working on her, it would be a lot easier if we had prior knowledge on her races physiology, right now we're just working in the dark but I assure we will do our best to ensure she recovers, as for the other girl Molly, her charts have shown some minor improvements, minor but still improvements, I admit if she was a normal human she would have been dead by now, you should thank god that your friend didn't suffer from M-day" The Doctor explained, flipping through the charts he carried.

"Have you heard anything from the soldiers about what they intend to do with us?" Nico asked.

"Sorry but they've kept quiet, they don't interfere with my work and I don't interfere with theirs, now why don't I take you to your friends" The Doctor said, opening the door.

"Thank you for this Doc" Chase said with a friendly smile on his face.

"Please call me Jake…Jake Olson!" The Doctor said with a smile before he led the three teenagers to Klara and Molly's room.

* * *

Sieg sat in his room at Avengers tower, contemplating the path he took. He still wore the armour that Norman had made him; he had absolutely no doubt that Osborn had put some kind of fail-safe inside the armour in case he had a change of heart. Sieg didn't care; quite frankly he hated the armour. It was an insult to a name that Sieg never once thought of bearing. But Sieg's focus then turned to why he was doing this, Celeste; he needed to keep Celeste safe. Sieg got up off the floor and walked to his door. He walked out of the room, walking down the corridor towards the Avengers conference room, or their living room. Sieg didn't actually know where he was going; alls he knew was that there was a lot of food on the table (which strangely seemed to be a common thing) and a picture of the second wave of Avengers.

'Hmmm, what to eat first Sieg' the boy thought to himself as he looked at the meals set out on the table.

* * *

Slade walked out of the rec room, leaving the Scarlet Witch and the other Avengers behind. He then broke off into a run towards the train cart.

"SLADE WAIT!!" Wanda yelled after the man.

But by the time she caught up, the train was already on its way out. Inside the train, Slade gripped the edge of his seat tightly, his eyes glowing fiercer and fiercer.

"Damn you Osborn" He said aloud.

He needed to clear his head, somehow he needed to relieve the anger he was feeling. Then it came to him, he now knew what he had to do. Reaching for his communicator, Slade contacted James.

"What's up Slade?"

"James, we need to find the other Avengers, you, Security and Driver pull everything you've got into finding the Young Avengers, the rebel Avengers and breaking out the other rebel heroes, I need to borrow something from your lab" Slade explained.

"I've got a lot of inventions, be a bit more specific please" James said.

"The items I need are the Skrull locator and the transporter" Slade said, causing James to widen his eyes.

"What could you possibly want with the transporter?" James asked.

"Covering long distances is key to winning a battle, also I need to get more allies, you know that James, Osborn isn't the only person whose taken prisoners"

"Its too dangerous…. god I cant stop you anyway, just be careful okay" James sighed.

"I always am, and tell Wanda not to worry, I'll find her sons"

Slade put the communicator down and looked forward with new resolve.

* * *

Once again Sieg found himself walking up the corridor, heating a chunk of meat he took from the dinner table. He damned his luck, for he was now lost. Sieg sighed before walking on. His ears suddenly twitched as he detected voices coming from the door behind him. He silently pressed his ear against the wood, listening in on the conversation.

"I-I have some problems, some…mental problems" That was the Sentry speaking, he sounded slightly tense. "I have a hard time…sometimes"

Sieg widened his eyes, mental problems? Did this have anything to do with the Sentry's power of a million exploding suns? The curiosity Sieg felt quickly turned to anger as he heard Osborn speak.

"Me too you know" the man said.

"You too what?" Sentry asked.

"I have some "Issues" I have…do you know anything about me Bob?"

'Issues is putting it lightly' Sieg thought with a frown.

"No" was Sentry's reply.

"Have you ever heard of the Green Goblin?"

'Maybe I should go and ask the whole world that question' Sieg thought.

"Yeah Spider-man right?"

"That's me, that was me"

'And strangely people have forgotten that, god what the hell happened to the world'

"You're the Green Goblin?"

"The original one"

"And you're in my house?"

'Go on "bob" throw him out, right out the door'

"I'm not the Green Goblin now Bob, I'm okay now, I'm under control. So under control that I now have Tony Stark's job"

'On second thought, throw him out of the window' Sieg thought with a glare.

"I have this building, I'm running the Avengers"

'Third thought, throw that goblin bastard straight into the sun'

"I came up here to tell you, you can control this Bob, just choose to"

'Wait a second, this aint right, there's no way that Osborn would be trying to help the Sentry' Sieg thought.

He listened intensively as Norman went onto explain to Sentry that there was no Void, just like there were no Goblins. There is no Void! There is no void! That's what he did for minutes, reinforcing his point, getting Sentry to repeat those words. Then the man went onto tell the Sentry to accept the human part of him, to eat and drink, to do all the things that humans did. Sieg shook his head as he walked towards the living room. He leant his head against the Avengers picture. Osborn manipulated people, he had potential true but right now he was up to something. And Sieg wouldn't rest until he found out what it was.

* * *

Nico, Xavin, Klara and Chase stood by Molly's side. Chase held back tears, torn apart by the sight of Molly connected to machines.

"Where are Karolina and Victor, why can't we see them?" Nico asked, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"Karolina is still being treated in surgery, as for the dinosaur and the android, they're being held by Hammer, I don't know where" Jake said.

"Damn it, we should have been more careful" Chase slammed his hands into the wall.

"Chase this is my…"

"Don't you dare blame yourself Nico, I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to look out for everyone, why was I so foolish?" Chase asked himself.

Jake lowered his head, looking at the teens, so helpless, just as he had felt once.

'If only I had that power again' He thought.

* * *

**State of Wisconsin**

Gravity sighed, for not only was he bored but he also doubted the stability of the new Initiative. He had been put on the team of the Great Lakes Initiative, a team infamous for its lack of action (and its lack of names). While fighting was going on all across the world, there was very little fighting going on at Wisconsin. So far the only action Gravity had seen was at New York where he met Slade Muga. The man seemed to really want to do the right thing. He was even pushing his own forces to defend other areas of the world. Gravity leant his head back in his chair, witnessing a poker game between Mr Immortal, Flatman and the Fifth Grasshopper, who as usual was out within the first few seconds.

'What am I doing here? Honestly what am I doing? The villains that Osborn has recruited get more action than we do, and they spend most of their time just torturing prisoners…it's not right' Gravity thought, looking at the war room map.

He zoomed in on locations across the world, Paris was defended, Moscow was defended, and Africa was defended, as was London. The Middle Eastern attack had been thwarted, as had the attacks on Asgard. There was only one place that wasn't being defended.

"Team, do you guys want to go to China?" He asked with a shy smile.

"China, what for?" Big Bertha asked.

"Well you see, China isn't really being defended, and I was thinking…Osborn isn't right, the way he's focusing his troops on America…we're not doing anything here we should be putting ourselves to use" Gravity explained.

"Well its about time you said what we were all thinking" Flatman said.

Squirrel girl nodded her head with a smile whilst Bertha crossed her arms with a huff.

"So what are we waiting for, lets get to it" Mr Immortal said eagerly.

Gravity smiled, despite their lack of experience the Great Lakes Initiative was eager to do something to help. Whether it was glory or just their desire to do the right thing Gravity didn't care. Right now he had a team he could use.

"I think we should release our prisoner too, he might be able to help" Gravity said.

The team walked towards the holding cell, showing no surprise at the person inside it. He was only Eighteen years old, wearing regular civilian clothing over his scrawny body.

"Sorry about keeping you in here Kevin, but I think its time we started doing something to help, you wouldn't mind joining us would you?" Gravity asked.

"It's about time you guys saw sense, you guys can take this collar off me right?" Kevin asked, gripping the metahuman control collar on his neck.

"No problem…doorman!" Mr Immortal said as he unlocked the cell.

Doorman reached into his chest, pulling out a key for the control collar. Once Kevin walked out of the cell, Doorman unlocked the boy's collar. Kevin smiled before rolling his eyes into the back of his head. Squirrel girl put her hands to her mouth as a green liquid began to cover the boy. Eventually he was surrounded by green goo, which expanded and slowly grew taller until it towered over the other heroes. Gravity smiled as the goo began to drip from Kevin's new body. His muscles had expanded to impossible sized, whilst gold armour covered his wrists and chest. He now stood over the heroes, wearing red trousers and gloves, along with a red cape. His boyish features had been replaced with a stern expression. Emblazed on his chest was a red and black "P" symbol.

"Okay guys, where to?" Kevin asked.

"Well Prime, you and I are going to China, the others here will go to New York and find this Slade guy" Gravity said.

The leader of the Great Lakes Initiative smiled as he and Prime flew away from their home base. It looked like it was time for these heroes to do their part in this war.

* * *

Joseph Green was first and foremost a soldier, and that meant doing the best for his country and her allies. But Osborn hadn't done a thing for any other UN country since he took charge. Not even military support, in fact the Army and Navy had only been put on border patrol and didn't have that many skirmishes. Gauntlet looked around the Hammond medical bay, Red Nine was getting a broken arm and nose treated, Nighthawk was undergoing surgery and Bengal was getting a sword wound bandaged. While outside the med bay, the other heroes under Osborn's command were receiving a short rest before being sent off again.

'What the hell is that rich boy thinking?' Gauntlet wondered.

He turned his attention to the prison ship landing on the pad. Joseph walked towards the aircraft, opening the airlock door and stepping inside. The prisoners were all riled up and they just weren't aliens, they were former heroes. Starfox, Rage, Phaser, Jack and Julie Powers, even Wondra had been captured. Gauntlet contained a glare as Vargas and Gothica walked past him, he really hated those two. Continuing his walk down the hallway, Joseph widened his eyes at what he saw next.

Wizard had pinned a man to the ground with his latest invention, "Gravity discs" was what many wondered he called them. Joseph couldn't see who it was, but alls he knew was that Klaw was bombarding him with sound waves whilst Swordsman continually punched him across the face.

"I don't really care whether Bulls eye wants him, this man broke my nose!" Swordsman said, drawing his sword.

The Hammer agents were just standing back no one was stepping in. Gauntlet leapt forward, wrapping his energy claw around the three villains, throwing them off the helpless prisoner.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SCUMBAGS THINK YOUR DOING!!!" Gauntlet yelled.

"GET YOUR HAND OFF OF ME GREEN!" Swordsman yelled.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!!!"

Gauntlet looked behind him to see Shocker standing with his gauntlets ready.

"Back off Strucker, you two Klaw, Wizard…Green outranks us, don't make this personal" Shocker said.

"Whatever, I just needed something to relieve the stress, besides "Hawkeye" outranks us all since he's an Avenger, he's going to want to talk with our prisoner, I would have thought you'd want to take a shot at the guy too" Adrienne said as he sheathed his sword and walked past Gauntlet.

"Unlike you three I've got my priorities straight…see you later Sergeant!" Shocker said, before turning his back.

Joseph crouched, looking over the prisoner. He widened his eyes when he saw who it actually was. His mask was ripped and most of his face was bruised, but Gauntlet only needed to look at the mans red costume and the two D's on his chest to see who it was.

'Oh my god Daredevil!' Joseph thought. "I NEED A MEDIC HERE!!!"

This kind of thing never would have happened if Stark was still in charge. Joseph had lied about MVP, played along with the cover up and had even agreed to the Armoury experiments. Now former criminals were taking over, how long until he had to do something that was truly wrong?

"WHERE THE HELLS THAT MEDIC!!!" He yelled once more.

* * *

"Damn Stark, gotta say I wish I had your inventiveness, armour with a drill, never thought of that one" James said, looking at the numerous suits that had been recovered from Stark tower.

"My Extremis abilities are gone, so I'll have to rely on good old fashioned fire power again" Tony explained. "What's the ETA on Rhodey and Pepper arriving?" He asked.

"Another hour and they'll be at the tower in their civvies, Slade would meet them but he's got some plan involving my teleporter and locator"

"It wouldn't involve Osborn and his Avengers would it? He seemed pretty upset when he saw them" Tony said.

"Nah, he wouldn't let his emotions control him like that, he's got a lot more self control than me…when you don't piss off his other side, I'm kind of pissed off, but I know that the Hawkeye's and Marvel's he have aren't the real deal and Ares is just doing what he always does, and Sentry can still be saved…that's what I believe!" James explained with a smile.

"What about this other guy they've got?"

"What other guy?" James asked in confusion.

"How much of the press conference did you watch?" Tony asked.

"I turned it off when Norman took his helmet off, I always figured he'd try something like that"

"Well after he introduced the Avengers he introduced our "saviour" a man in white and red armour called Aeon"

Upon hearing that name, Tony saw a side of James he hadn't seen before. The young genius widened his eyes for a brief moment before narrowing his eyes in total fury. He walked out of the armour gallery and broke off into a run. Gloria watched him go and ran after him, followed by Songbird. James opened the door to his armour storage tank. He climbed into the Eight-foot armour he had designed. The chest plate covered his legs whilst the massive helmet lowered, obscuring his view. Slowly, the dull grey colour was replaced with a white and red colour. A red diamond visor appeared on the helmet and James saw the target retina for his blasters and the environment around him. Numerous syringes dug into his wrists and heels and for a moment he growled as he moved his arms and legs.

The giant armour moved and pointed its arms upwards. Gloria and Songbird covered their eyes as James ignited his rockets, flying through a hole on the ceiling. He flew up a long launch tube and much to the surprise of a group of invaders flew out of a factory chimney.

"James what are you…"

But James quickly switched his radio off; he didn't want any voices in his head as he flew towards Avengers tower. He didn't care about the Avengers, he could have his own Defenders, X-men even his own Captain America. James didn't care about Norman insulting those names, but no one touched Aeon.

"OSBORN!!!" He yelled as he crashed through the tower window.

* * *

Slade walked into James's lab and began searching through the drawers and cupboards. Right now he needed to release a few prisoners and save a few lives. And he decided that the best person to undergo a prison break was the ruthless part of himself, the one who wouldn't hold back and would release the prisoners in the fastest time possible. When he found the teleporter remote, he put the device into his left hand. Slowly he changed into his armoured form. And even slower this time, the black side of his armour began to shift until eventually an entire separate being split from his body, leaving a white body to search for the scanner.

"So I'm going to space then?" The Black Slade asked, lifting the red and white scythe onto his shoulder.

"Yes, please don't go looking for fights just find the prisoners and release them…don't kill anyone even Blastaar" Slade said.

"And what will you be doing?"

"I'm going to show them something they haven't been shown recently, kindness"

"Oooh, this is going to be exciting, I wish it were me going just so I could kill those xenophobic pricks"

"If I'm lucky I wont run into them but if I do I'm the right person for the job, I'll protect the Skrulls!" Slade said, closing a drawer with the Skrull locator in hand.

"The ones who will help us save this world are the ones who wanted to throw us off it…its so damn ironic" The Black Slade said before bursting into sinister laughter.

Slade looked at the locator and smiled as he found a signal. It didn't matter whether the Kill Krew got in his way, he would protect the surviving Skrulls no matter what happened. And his other side would free the captured Galactic heroes, that was the part it would play.

Next Chapter 8: Unleashed

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, sorry if anyone was disappointed by the "fight" with Sieg and Wolverine, originally I had a big battle planned but then I thought, Sieg doesnt have time to play around and he'll get even more desperate in future chapters. Anyway please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 8: Unleashed

Osborn wasn't in a good mood, though he did a god job of containing it. It took a psychologist on Sofen's level to see that Osborn was hiding something. But Sofen didn't need a PHD to see that this James Crowner was angry. You could see it beyond the armour. Norman crossed his arms, casually walking over to the scotch on the only table that James hadn't broken. He poured himself a glass as Noh-Varr, Ares, Gargan and Miss Hand walked into the room.

"Mr Crowner, how pleasant to see you, would you like a glass of scotch?" Osborn asked.

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME OSBORN!!!" James yelled, swinging his arm round and smacking the wall. "You've crossed lines, your disrespect will earn you no mercy from the Avengers and now you've lost my mercy as well"

"And why would that be?" Osborn asked.

"YOU CAN MOCK MS MARVEL! YOU CAN DESECRATE HAWKEYE AND THE AVENGERS NAME! BUT YOU CAN NEVER REPLACE AEON!!!" James roared.

Norman laughed as he gulped the scotch down.

"If your talking about the saviour then you can talk to him yourself, it was what he wanted after all" Norman said.

"Yeah bring him out, bring out the guy whose insulting one of the greatest men on the planet" James growled.

"Well unfortunately he's busy at the moment, I sent him and Sentry on a very important mission in Connecticut…it seems you'll have to settle for my explanation, the world needs a saviour and who better to do it than Aeon"

"You bastard, you just want someone to win over the people for you, you can pretend that you're the big hero but I know it's a façade, your nothing but an old Spidey villain, a psycho trying to play the big time, to do what every other villain couldn't, control everything…but guess what all these villains under your employ, they'll tear you apart once they see how much of a control freak you really are" James explained.

"Unfortunately you wont live to see that day, you've technically invaded our home and that gives us the right to defend ourselves, Avengers…"

But before Osborn could say the battle cry, James blasted him with a low-level energy ray. The other Dark Avengers rushed forward, Moonstone fired an energy blast into James's chest, sending him flying out of the tower. He came to a halt in midair, widening his eyes as Venom leapt towards him. But, James grabbed Venom's flapping tongue and threw him into a building below the tower. Noh-Varr jumped off of the tower, firing one of his blasters. James blocked the shots with his arm and threw a punch at the Kree. But Noh-Varr flipped in midair, avoiding the iron fist. He extended his fingernails, stabbing them into James's gauntlets. With a swing of his arm, James sent Noh-Varr flying into the air. He opened two flaps on his back, revealing a pair of cannons. Blue beams burst forth from the cannon, slamming into Ares chest, burning his armour off and sending him crashing through every wall of the tower. The god of war growled in anger as he fell towards the streets below. Bullseye and Daken flew out of the building with Jetpacks and weapons ready. Moonstone bombarded James with energy blasts, forcing to activate his force field. The beams slammed into the blue bubble, pushing it downwards. Norman looked down at James, scoffing as the plates of his armour covered his body.

"Did you intend to claim victory today Crowner? I credited you as someone intelligent" Norman said as he flew at James.

The two armoured men slammed their fists together, releasing a shockwave that cracked the windows around them. But James's armour was built for raw power and sent the Iron Patriot flying backwards into another window of the tower. Daken landed on James's back, stabbing his claws into his shoulder pads. James activated an electric pulse on his armour, throwing the son of Wolverine off. Bullseye fired several explosive arrows at James, but that wasn't enough to break through his barrier. Noh-Varr kicked James across the head, and Moonstone punched his chest. A crack ran across his armour and James widened his eyes as Iron Patriot and Moonstone linked their beam attacks together. The massive ray slammed into James's barrier, cracking it. He flew out of the barrier just as it shattered, the beam burning the leg of his suit into slag.

* * *

Sieg and the Sentry flew across the sky, both at speeds faster than the eye could see. Grinding his teeth together, Sieg desperately tried to contain his berserker impulses. He cut through an enemy ship, firing a blast at it until it crashed into the abandoned streets of Queens. The Sentry however was much faster and efficient dispatching his enemies. He flew straight into the ships, punching holes and breaking the necks of the crew. Sieg widened his eyes as one of the ships exploded from the inside. The Sentry then flew past him and Sieg could have sworn he saw a blackness in the mans eyes. Swinging the sword that Osborn made him round, Sieg launched an energy wave, knocking a group of dragon like creatures out of the sky. Then he looked to the ground and gasped at what he saw. The Sentry was walking towards a group of alien soldiers. He picked one up and literally tore the man apart.

"SENTRY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!" Sieg yelled.

He flew in front of the older man, spreading his arms out.

"This isn't who you are Mr Reynolds, I thought Osborn told you there was no Void, was he lying huh?" Sieg asked.

"We have to kill them all, but bring one back" The Sentry said as he walked past Sieg.

The young man could only watch as Sentry tore each every one of the crewmembers apart. He knew he had to endure the Dark Avengers cruelty just for a little while. Gaining some kind of leverage to use against Norman was a priority, until then he had to play along.

"I'm sorry!" He said with tears in his eyes as he stabbed an alien in the chest.

* * *

**Muga awoke from his latest blackout and yelled as the bodies of four Super Skrulls lay beneath him. The Skrull were invading and it called for desperate measures, but he didn't need to go this far.**

"**NO!" he yelled.**

"**Yes" Said his dark side. "Do you really think a war can go any other way, just be happy I gave them quick deaths, the question you should ask yourself is do you have the balls to make the choice and do what is necessary to stop evil"**

**The thought lingered and Slade jumped onto a rooftop as someone approached the battle scene. He was wearing combat boots and a green jacket, and carried weapons of various sizes on his back. The African American man kneeled down, removing his knife. He was Ryder, leader of the Skrull Kill Krew. Slade widened his eyes as Ryder began to chop the limbs off of the Skrulls and put them into his bag. It was only after careful and stealthy spy work that Slade discovered what Ryder would do with the parts. He and other members of the Krew would eat them, most of the time for fun.**

* * *

"Not this time Ryder, if you show up I will stop you if I have to" Slade said as he flew across the city, following the signal from his locator.

He landed by a warehouse that the infiltrators used to meet one another. Slade walked into the warehouse, keeping shield held up as he crept into the dark. He lowered his arm and relaxed his arms as he looked at who the sensors had sensed. During the invasion the Avengers faithful butler Jarvis was impersonated. The Skrull Jarvis looked at Slade, holding a sleeping baby in his arms. She was the daughter of Jessica and Luke Cage.

"I'm not here to kill you, I just want to talk" Slade said, dropping his shield and taking a step towards the disguised Skrull.

"You are one of this planets heroes, word has spread of how you have treated our people" The Skrull said coldly.

"What have you heard?" Slade asked.

"Of the Kill Krew, the murder of Skrulls who only want to live amongst you and of course the death prison, the place where Skrulls are sent to be eaten by Osborn's beast"

"Oh my god…I'm sorry, I know that cant take back the mistreatment of your people, hate is so easy to form during war…but I have never abused one of your race, I wish for your people to survive as well, please give me the child and I can take you both to a safe place" Slade explained.

The Skrull Jarvis held Danielle close as she stirred in her sleep. He smiled at the child before putting her into Slade's arms.

"I'm not an evil man you must understand…I've only wanted the best for my people, Veranke took it too far, we are not all cultists, we just wanted a new home"

"I know, please show me where the others are so I can keep them safe"

The Skrull Jarvis nodded his head as he slowly made his way towards the exit. Unbeknownst to them however two black African American men were watching them from a roof. One was dressed in ordinary casual clothing whilst the other was dressed in a green and red costume.

"There he is" 3D-man said.

"Yeah, come on lets get the others, that Skrull will lead us to the others" Ryder said.

"Then what?" Delroy asked.

"We do what the Krew do best" Ryder said with a grin.

* * *

Deep space, it was a place where he always felt at home. Maybe it was because of the darkness, or maybe it was the solitude. Dark Slade well and truly hated people, most were selfish, flawed. Even the heroes were flawed; Iron man an Alcoholic, Henry Pym a wife beater, the formerly insane Scarlet Witch, even Spider-man had worn an alien suit to attain more power. But right now his other halves current choice of allies wasn't his concern. Getting these Guardians out of Karabai's prison ship was the priority. The only problem was that he didn't have a clue where the ship was. Either he could unleash his full power and cut every ship apart…oh no, he just remembered he couldn't access his full power without the other half. So it looked like he had to do things the old fashioned way.

Taking off towards one of the nearby frigates, Dark Slade raised his scythe as he flew in front of the ships bridge. With a swing, he launched an energy wave that cut the ship in half. He grinned as the crew floated through space, lifeless. Of course some were dying and could probably be saved if he intervened. But he preferred to let these invaders suffer. It was then that his eyes caught sight of a red shine. He flew through the rubble, crossing his arms as he found the first group of prisoners. Dark Slade recognised one of them as the former New Warrior Darkhawk, the other silver "Darkhawk" beside him was someone Slade had never met before.

"Well, two prisoners is better than one…actually I can do better" Dark Slade said.

With a flick of his fingers he enveloped the two armoured heroes in a black energy bubble. Then he moved onto his next possible target, a frigate built similarly to the one he had just destroyed. This time he decided to focus, using his power of inner sight. Half of these soldiers were from the old Shiar Empire, just following orders. Then he found three others of interest, one was pure of heart, and the other was less than that, the other seemed a bit too brutal for the Light Slade's team. A grin crept across his face as he flew at the frigate like a bullet. He smashed straight through the ship, triggering an explosion that tore the ship in two. Slade flew out of the wreckage, holding Major Victory and Rocket Raccoon inside a bubble like Dark hawk's and in his arms was the supposed deadliest woman alive Gamora. He sniffed at her hair, cursing as he remembered there was no air in space. Throwing her into the other two Guardian's bubble, Dark Slade turned to the direction of one of the capital ships. It was on a direct course for Earth, opening the hatches for its fighters. He grinned in anticipation as the flyers flew towards him, along with a squadron of flying Karabai grunts and the greatest warrior in the Shiar Empire, the infamous Gladiator. He gripped his scythe tightly before charging into battle.

* * *

Bucky followed the new Black Panther through the corridors of T'Challa's palace. Several battle scars had been laid out across the walls and floor of the once great city of Wakanda; the invaders had attacked even this place. It was then that the two heroes entered the throne room. T'Challa was sitting at his throne, his arm in a sling with bandage on his legs, chest and a mask connecting him to a life support machine.

"What happened?" Bucky asked upon seeing the wounded king.

"First I was betrayed by Dr Doom, he offered an alliance against the aliens, but he attacked me as soon as I got off my ship…" T'Challa coughed and the new Black Panther walked to her kings side, putting a hand on his shoulder.

She removed her mask, revealing T'Challa's sister Shuri underneath the mask.

"Brother…your majesty this is too dangerous you must recover from your wounds before…"

"No Shuri, they must know more…the attack from Doom wasn't the last, the damage that has been done to Wakanda isn't just from the Invaders…it came…from a counter attack" T'Challa explained.

"From who?" Bucky asked.

"Narobia"

"Impossible, you never attacked Narobia"

"Not myself…but Ororo did, or at least they have evidence that she did, not only that but she also decimated other African nations, leaving them ripe for the invaders picking"

"No T'Challa…we have agents defending those villages hit, Africa will not fall while we are here"

"I have faith in your strength, but that is not my concern…you must get away from Africa and force Doom to tell you who he is working with, before they are allowed to bring their plan into action" T'Challa said weakly.

"What about Wakanda?" Bucky asked.

"There is a way to save Wakanda from total war, but I must sacrifice…" T'Challa suddenly broke into a coughing fit as the ground shook.

Bucky ran to the window, gasping as he saw the forces attacking the city. Princess Zanda marched her army towards Wakanda, wearing a suit of powered armour. With a wave of her arm, her soldiers fired their blasters, bombarding the gate.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES SHE WANT!!!" Bucky yelled.

"Her demands are that we form an alliance"

"And she attack you for that?" Bucky asked.

"I must give something up in order for the alliance to be made…I must make that sacrifice to save all of Africa from war" T'Challa said weakly before he fell unconscious.

"My brother is right Captain, you must leave this place before you are caught in the fighting" Shuri said.

Captain America watched as Wakandan soldiers clashed with Narobian warriors. He couldn't understand how Narobia had gained enough technology to fight an even battle with Wakanda, even with the depleted forces Wakanda should still have been able to hold its own. Zanda smashed her way through Wakanda warriors, breaking their necks with mere squeezes of her armoured hands. Bucky slammed his fist against the wall, what would Steve have done to stop all this.

'If only you were here Steve, if only you were here to lead us' Bucky thought, giving T'Challa one last look before running out of the palace.

Retracing his steps, Bucky made his way towards the passageway that would lead him back towards the jungle. But then he heard the ground shake again. During his battles in the jungle he had seen orbital drop pods used by the invaders to unleash N-Zone insects. He had seen what they would do to even defenceless children. It was something he wasn't about to let happen again. Following the scream, Bucky made his way to the courtyard. Once there he already saw a Wakandan child in the claws of an alien insect. Without hesitation Bucky threw his shield, beheading the insect.

"COME ON YOU BUGS TRY AND EAT SOMETHING BIGGER!!!" Captain America yelled as he jumped from the steps.

There were hundreds of the N-zone bugs pouring out of the four orbital pods launched by the invader mother ship. Even against impossible odds, James Buchanan Barnes ran forward into a whole army. He finally realised what Steve would have done, he would have done whatever it took to keep the people of this city alive, even sacrifice his life if he had to. The N-zone insects abandoned their civilian targets and piled on top of Bucky. Captain America let out a roar before throwing his shield through the invaders. His mask was torn, and his cybernetic arm was exposed but still he fought on, drawing his knife and splitting the insects head open. The shield flew back into his hand and again he rushed into the fight.

'This is what being a hero is' Captain America thought.

* * *

Explosions ignited across space as Dark Slade clashed with Gladiator. He laughed as he locked fingers with Gladiator, grappling and crashing into the ships of the invaders. Gladiator blasted Slade with his eye beams, knocking him backwards. Dark Slade summoned his scythe, slashing Gladiator across the chest. But the Imperial guard recovered, slamming his fist into Slade's face. Darkhawk began to stir in his forced sleep. Finally he had regained control of his body. Talon turned out to be a member of an organisation of evil Darkhawks called the Fraternity of raptors, awakening Chris's armours dormant personality Razor the two of them attempted to join Karabai. But it turned out Karabai knew more about the Fraternity than Talon thought he did. After throwing them both into a forced sleep, Chris was able to communicate with Talon's wearer, a Skrull commander by the name of H'jke Jeeku who was unable to fight the armour, his personality soon being replaced by Talon's.

"Lets see how you like it" Chris growled as he grabbed the crystal on Talon's chest.

There was a flash of light and Slade and Gladiator both stopped their fight. They looked towards the bubble surrounding Chris and Jeeku and widened their eyes in surprise as the two Darkhawks flew past them.

"Chris…I cant hold my control over the armour, we must make this quick" Jeeku said, grinding his teeth together.

"All right lets just hope that Karabai didn't move them" Darkhawk said.

Chris changed his suit to its Strike mode and began firing disabling shots at the ships around him. The red blasts flew into the ships rockets as Jeeku slashed his way through their hulls. He looked towards the three cells and smiled. Adam Warlock, Starlord and Mantis, there's two the resistance could use. With swings of his wings, Jeeku cut the controls of the cells, opening the electric bars. Picking Mantis and Starlord up, Jeeku shook his head as he felt Talon begin to fight for control. He flew out of the ship, throwing the three prisoners into the arms of Darkhawk.

"Chris…please I beg of you, find and destroy the raptor amulets, don't let Karabai resurrect the fraternity…this is the task I give you, fulfil it please!" Jeeku growled.

"JEEKU WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" Chris yelled.

The former Skrull commander flew directly towards Karabai's ship. He switched his armour to its strike form, firing his blasters at the gigantic ship. It began firing its own weapons, striking Jeeku's wings.

"I know you can here me Karabai, remember these words…EARTH WILL NEVER BOW!!!!" Jeeku yelled.

With those last words, Jeeku opened his arms, welcoming a blast from the ships main cannon.

"JEEKU!!!" Chris yelled as the beam consumed the Skrull.

"Such bravery!" Gladiator applauded.

"What an idiot you mean"

Gladiator turned to Dark Slade in anger, but widened his eyes as the man fired an incredible blast of energy. The blast slammed into Gladiator, throwing him into one of the ships, blowing it to pieces. Slade flew into Darkhawk, gathering the prisoners he had released and pressing a button on the transporter.

"Home here we come" Dark Slade grinned before he and all the prisoners he had released disappeared from space.

* * *

Slade followed the Skrull Jarvis (or Skarvis as he had taken to calling him) through the abandoned streets of the city. Danielle was sleeping in Slade's arms, he had always been good with kids when he was separated from his dark side, children as young as Danielle seemed to sense the inner conflict. Skarvis stopped at the door to a Starbucks café, the blinds were down and all the lights were off. He opened the door, putting his hands up as several armed civilians aimed their pistols at him.

"He loves you all brothers and sisters" He said.

They lowered their guns and revealed their true Skrull forms. Slade entered, bowing his head to the Skrulls.

"Where are the rest of you?" Slade asked.

"Most of our women and children are down in the basement…the rest of our kind are thankfully spread out across the world, the Kill Krew can't spread its influence to other countries it seems" One of the Skrulls said.

"I can take you all to a safer place, there will be food, comfort and protection waiting for you" Slade explained.

"Why should we go with you, your people haven't spent one day resting to completely destroy our kind"

"Look around you hero, we aren't the ones that were consumed by Veranke's insanity" One of the Skrulls said, picking up a Skrull child. "This child's family merely wished to live amongst you…but what did your heroes do, they killed his parents, tried to kill him as well if not for the Super Skrulls intervention" he explained.

"I am not one of them…if the people of this planet are consumed by their hatred then I will pull them out…but for your own survival you need to have faith in me, I swear on every Skrull that was killed, I swear to your god that I will protect you…with my life if I have to" Slade said solemnly, offering the Skrull his hand.

* * *

The Iron Warlord sat on his makeshift throne in the Baxter building, watching every battle-taking place on Earth. In Japan, Sunfire and the Big Hero six were beginning to attack the invaders mother ship, whilst Elektra led the Hand ninjas on the ground. A smile crossed his face, for Princess Zanda was going further and further into the Wakandan palace. His own Black Panther walked out of the shadows, looking at the battle in Wakanda.

"Don't worry Panther, you existence will be assured…the sacrifices we make over the next few days will be worth it" Iron Warlord said.

The two Marvel's suddenly floated into the room.

"We've found the Young Avengers, when do we move in?" Captain asked.

"We wait!" Was Iron warlord's response.

"Wait for their get out of jail card to get "BOOM!" right in the head!" Spider-man giggled as he and Hulk walked into the room.

"When will the Hulk arrive?" He asked with a growl.

"Calm down Skaar…Banner is not your problem yet, how are our prisoners?" Warlord asked.

"Still unconscious and Foley found something very interesting apparently that Munroe woman's pregnant" Spider-man said.

"That is correct, where are Valeria and Franklin?"

"Running through the streets, we'd try and catch them but then we'd give ourselves away to the Hammer agents"

"A smart decision, have T'Lila continue watching them, she will intervene if they get close to the rebel Avengers"

"So is having T'Lila baby sit the kids her punishment?" Skaar asked.

"No! She hasn't even begun to experience her punishment yet"

* * *

Songbird and Gloria ran to the centre of the base as Dark Slade appeared with the prisoners he had gathered.

"Is that it, those were all the people you managed to release?" Gloria asked.

"Hey don't get in my face bitch" The man said as he dropped the transporter on the floor and smashed it apart with his foot.

"What are you doing we could have used that to get the others out" Darkhawk growled.

"And risk losing it so that the enemy can use it against us, yeah like that's smart" Dark Slade said before he suddenly disappeared.

"What the heck just happened?" Songbird asked.

'Oh no' Gloria thought, remembering that only one thing could happen to force the dark part of Slade's personality back into him.

* * *

James threw Venom by his leg into the tower, and then took two explosive arrows to his chest. Captain Marvel ran around him, firing his blasters at his back and chest. The armoured genius slammed his fist into Ares and blocked a kick from Moonstone. He fired a blast into her chest, but was then thrown back by a punch from Osborn. Venom jumped out of the building, ramming James head on. He bit into the armour's shoulder, ripping the plate off and exposing the wires. Bullseye then fired an arrow into the exposed part, frying the wires and damaging the arm. The left arm went limp and James grinded his teeth together as Ares crashed into him from behind. He swung his axe downward, cutting James's backpack. James immediately ejected the backpack as it exploded and braced himself for impact with the ground.

"Wow a real genius" Bullseye giggled.

His armour wasn't in the best of shape, and James knew that if he fought on with it then he would eventually be trapped. But throwing his logic aside he limped across the floor, raising his arm to deliver a beam to Venom's gut. Norman laughed as he and Moonstone floated down to his level. James sat up on his knees, glaring at Norman from behind his helmet. Daken walked forward on Normans command, stabbing James's shoulder. The claws pierced through the armour and James widened his eyes as he saw what the claws were made of. Daken was supposed to have bone claws, but these claws were metal.

"Like Wolverine's new claws James? They cost quite a bit of money and resources" Norman said.

Daken pulled his arm out, grinning as the blood flowed out of James's armour.

"Whatever your planning Osborn it wont succeed, there are people who will stop you, it doesn't end with me" James growled.

"What are you talking about human?" Noh-Varr asked, landing behind James.

"Oh this is good…you really don't know that the people your fighting with are cold blooded killers who would stab you in the back to get what they AAAARGH!!!" James yelled as Daken stabbed him in the same spot.

"Sorry "bub" but I cant allow you to keep talking" Daken said.

"You will never have your Aeon…YOU'LL NEVER BE A HERO!!!" James yelled at Osborn.

"I've just about had it with your gibberish, kill him!" Norman said.

Daken smiled as he thrust his arm forward. Suddenly, his claws stopped just inches from James's helmet. The son of Wolverine grinded his teeth together, putting all his effort into moving his arm. Suddenly he was lifted up into the air and slammed into the ground again and again until he left a man shaped mark on the road. Iron Patriot growled as he looked down the road. They were the one group of people he really didn't want to see. Justice, Night thrasher, Renascence, the two Scarlet Spider's and MVP.

"ALL RIGHT NEW WARRIORS! HIT EM HARD AND FAST!!!" Justice yelled before he flew into battle.

* * *

They listened to his offer, and after much debate they accepted his proposition. At least Fifty Skrulls in all, and Slade knew that they would lead them to the Super Skrull and others that would be able to assist at the base. But the priority was to keep as many of them safe as possible. Especially the children that could carry on the line. It was imperative that the Skrulls survived. They gathered only essentials and began their walk through the city.

On the top of a building rooftop, Ryder and 3D-man watched the Skrulls; they would attack them, signalling the 25-armed soldiers under their command to attack. 3D-man looked at the Skrulls curiously, he didn't enjoy his job but before now he had never been faced with killing a Skrull child. He watched Ryder load a rocket launcher; he was a cool guy if not a bit excessive.

"Ryder, they have children with them" He pointed out.

"…Yeah you're right, what am I thinking?" Ryder asked, putting the launcher down.

For a moment 3D-man considered smiling, until Ryder reached for a sniper rifle. Without remorse he took aim and fired.

Slade smiled; finally things were starting to go his way. He stopped as a Skrull child behind him tripped onto the floor. Picking the child up, Slade gave him a comforting child.

"My parents say that he loves you for doing this" The boy said.

"I'm not doing it for the love, I'm doing it to keep you safe, I promise I'll get you to a new home" Slade said.

"I cant wai…"

Suddenly there was a gunshot and a bullet flew into the side of the boy's head. He went limp in Slade's arms and the Skrulls went into high alert, covering their children and aiming their guns at the rooftops around them.

"Slade we are under attack what do we do?" Skarvis asked.

But Slade merely remained silent, staring at the boy in his arms. His whole life ahead of him and he was taken away.

"Slade what are we going to do? Slade! Slade!"

He felt his dark side return to him as his eyes glowed red. They had to be punished!

Next Chapter 9: Dark side

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time you'll see Slade's dark side unleashed and three men will have to make the most difficult decisions of their lives


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 9: Dark Side

_Sieg walked towards the Xavier institute, smiling as he saw Scott and Jean walking with the mutant baby "Hope" in their arms. It was good that the two of them were back together, sure Sieg liked Emma but he couldn't stand by as the Skrull was deceiving everyone. He stopped at the graves of all the dead students. Bowing his head in respect, Sieg began to pray for the fallen heroes._

"_You're beginning to spend more time here than you do out there"_

"_I know, its just…I want a normal life, or at least something normal" Sieg said._

"_But you are normal…what you'd be doing besides this is normal"_

"_A guy flying across the sky saving lives, that isn't normal" Sieg growled._

"_IF it's not your definition of normal then that's okay…that doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do"_

"_I…you always know what to say don't you?" Sieg asked._

"_Is he talking to you?"_

_Sieg turned around and smiled at Jean and Scott._

"_Yeah, he guides me…sometimes I feel like he's just telling me what to do, demanding me to carry on his duty" Sieg explained._

"_You know Sieg, that spirit is good…listening and following his orders saves lives, that's worth a little personal sacrifice" Jean said._

"_Thanks guys, is Celeste in?" He asked._

"_Yeah she's just getting out of class…you considered her offer?" Scott asked._

"_Well don't tell her this but I might not do it…"he" says that I shouldn't join a team, he said that teams change and those changes will drag me down, but he told me not to give up on the friends I make"_

"_He's very wise and brave, we all felt it when he saved us in the White hot Room" Jean said and Scott nodded his head in agreement. "But sometimes you need to follow your own heart too"_

"_Thanks for the advice, I'm going to see Celeste now"_

_Jean and Scott waved at the boy as he walked away._

"_Do you think he and Celeste are a good thing?" Jean asked her husband._

"_Honestly…I don't know whether Sieg actually loves Celeste or whether he's just clinging to her as an alternative form of support, Emma told me that Celeste told her that the spirit is talking to Sieg less and less"_

"_And you seem to be talking to Emma more and more" Jean said with a pout._

"_You know you're the only woman for me" Scott said, kissing her cheek._

"_That's not good enough, I think I need more proof" Jean giggled._

_Scott pressed his lips against Jeans and jumped back in shock as Hope started screaming. Jean cuddled the baby, trying to hush her with a soothing voice._

"_Oh don't worry Hope Scott wasn't trying to eat my face…a little help Scott" Jean said sheepishly as the girl continued to cry._

"_I'll go and get Nathan"_

* * *

Scott walked across the ruined streets of Moscow, one of many places hit during the recent wave of attacks. They were becoming more and more intense, it seemed that the invaders leader Karabai was leading his Seven-day assault based on the American lifted rubble off of the floor, giving the rescue workers a clear view of the wounded. Cyclops blasted an invader that had been left behind, placing a foot on his neck.

"What is Karabai's plan, tell me" Cyclops growled.

"Wouldn't you like to know" The soldier said cockily before shooting himself in the head.

Cyclops shook his head, these invaders seemed too human in the way they moved, but when faced with the prospect of death they were fearless. He had hoped that Osborn was too busy with the Avengers resistance in America. But knowing the X-men's luck the madman most likely still had something planned for them. Cyclops forgot that situation and instead focused on helping the survivors.

* * *

The New Warriors and the Dark Avengers clashed in their battle for James's life. Justice shot a psionic blast at Moonstone, who turned intangible to dodge the blast. She fired a beam from her hand, but Justice blocked the blow with a psionic shield. Iron Patriot slammed his fist into Nightthrasher's shield, swinging his arm round and elbowing the Warrior's leader in the head. Donyell rolled across the floor, flipping back onto his feet and drawing his two nightsticks. Renascence fired her pistols at Venom, who lunged madly at the two Scarlet Spiders. They scattered, Michael launching a web line at Bullseye feet whilst Patrick went for Noh-Varr. Sophia hit Venom across the chest with her mechanical tentacles, activating her force field to block his claw swipes. MVP ran at surprisingly fast speeds towards Ares. The god of war swung his axe at the boy, but widened his eyes as MVP jumped over him. He skidded to a halt next to James, banging his hand against the armour.

"Hey Mr Crowner, how do I open this thing?" MVP asked.

"Just a second!" James said and with a mere though the chest of his armour opened.

James crawled out of the armour and widened his eyes as Daken walked towards MVP.

"You should have stayed home bub!" Daken grinned.

MVP turned around just as Daken lunged forward. He slammed his elbow into Daken's jaw, and then gripped his collar, throwing him over his shoulder. Daken landed on his head, rolling across the floor. MVP put James's arm around his neck, supporting him as they walked.

"Put me down kid, help your team mates out" James said, spitting his blood onto the dirt.

"But your legs broken, you need help to get out of here" MVP said.

Ares yelled as he ran towards James and MVP. Suddenly, a red blast flew from James's hand, slamming into Ares and sending him flying across the street. MVP looked at James with shock in his eyes.

"You didn't think I used a generator to power that armour did you? Go and help your team mates alls I need to do is call Gloria and we can be out of here" James said, sitting on a piece of rubble.

MVP nodded his head and ran into the fight. Gaining speed and momentum he jumped off of a piece of rubble and slammed his foot into Moonstone's cheek, forcing her to the ground. She glared at MVP, charging a blast in her hand. Justice took this chance to fire a psionic blast into Moonstone's side, throwing her into Bullseye. Night thrasher blocked a punch from Iron Patriot, hitting him across the head with his left nightstick. Osborn fired his uni-beam, but Donyell fell onto his back, barely dodging the beam. Renascence wrapped her arms around Venom, bombarding his head with bullets. But with a roar, Gargan shattered the arms to pieces. His muscles expanded until he towered over Sophia, roaring and slobbering on her face. Noh-Varr grabbed Patrick by his Waldoes, dragging him across the floor and throwing him into Michael. The two Scarlet Spiders flipped onto their feet, firing webs onto Venom's back. With tugs on their lines they pulled Venom towards them, throwing him over their shoulders. Daken slashed at MVP, cutting his cheek. But MVP swung his leg round, kicking Daken across the neck.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DESTROYED IT!!!" James yelled into his phone.

"Exactly what I said, his dark side put the transporter on the floor and smashed it to bits" Gloria explained.

"DOES HE EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH TIME AND EFFORT I PUT INTO THAT? THE OTHER ONE WAS STOLEN TOO!!!!" James yelled.

"Well he took that better than we thought he would" Security said.

Why was he here? How much good was he really doing amongst these Avengers? Would Mar-Vell have sided with them? Those are many questions that ran through Noh-Varr's mind as he engaged the New Warriors. Then he thought of what James said, he at least suspected that these Avengers were former criminals, in fact he knew about Norman but the others. Would they really betray one another to get ahead?

* * *

Sieg sat on a rock just five kilometres away from New Mexico. He and Sentry had been spending all day flying across America destroying alien ships, killing their crew but keeping one alive to bring back to the prison. He hated this, having to kill people without mercy. But this sacrifice was worth it. That's at least what he thought until his current situation. Hammer agents gathered a group of alien crew workers, who were all shaking with fear. They were kind of like those prawn creatures from District 9. Afraid, panicking creatures being put on their knees and waiting for their deaths.

'Please just get it over with' Sieg thought as the agents readied their rifles.

"Wait just one second!" A voice said from behind the agents and Sieg.

Gothica floated across the ground, grinning as he felt the fear of the aliens. He patted Sieg on the shoulder, pushing him forward slightly.

"Come on Sieg, you could kill every last one of them without us wasting a single bullet" Gothica said.

Sieg widened his eyes at what the man was suggesting. So far he had only killed single soldiers, some were even dying and had to be put out of their misery. But this was crossing a line that Aeon would never have approved of. And yet if he didn't do this he would ruin his chances of figuring out what Norman was planning. That and he would place Celeste and the X-men in more danger than they needed to be in. No, for the moment they needed to focus on defending the planet. Hesitantly he raised his arm.

"But you need to laugh as you do it" Gothica said.

It took all of Sieg's energy not to smack the man there and then. What the hell should he do? Why couldn't he hear his voice anymore?

* * *

Celeste sat with her sisters, watching David and Hank attempting to fix Cerebra. They sighed at the lack of action they were getting. Even Emma had been out fighting the aliens in Westchester. Mutants from across the world that were capable of fighting fought to defend their planet. And here they were watching two egg heads attempt to fix the machine that could coordinate their attack on Karabai's main force.

"**We should be out there" **Phoebe thought.

"**Maybe, but whose going to use Cerebra when these two have fixed it?" **Mindee wondered.

"**How about we communicate with the spirit, ask him what he'd do in this situation"**

"**He'd get himself killed fighting some worthless battle" **Celeste thought and her sisters looked at her in shock. **"He's dragged Sieg down, turned him into something pathetic…god damn him to hell" **She got off her seat and walked out of Cerebra.

Cable was leaning against the wall, his eyes glowing a blue colour.

"What are you doing Nathan?" Kid Vulcan asked.

"Interfacing with several satellites, there aren't many left but I think I can use one of seven to pinpoint where the other Young X-men were transported to…I found one, Pixie, she's in New Mexico" Cable explained, his eyes suddenly widened.

"What is it Cable?" Darwin asked, the scene catching his, Anole's and Laurie's attention.

"Pixie, she's inches away from a group of Hammer agents, she seems to be watching them…wait, they're gathering up alien ship mechanics, they're all terrified"

"I'll fly over there"

"You'll never make it in time uncle Gabe"

"But if we don't get there they'll execute them and probably Pixie" Darwin pointed out.

"Then we need to get over there as fast as we can" Laurie said, putting her hands together.

"No, just wait and watch!" Nathan said sharply, interfacing with their minds and showing them what the satellites were seeing.

Sieg's hand shook as he powered up a blast. The surviving alien struggled under Vargas's grip. Gothica merely smiled, feeling the fear in the aliens last moments. Drawing more and more energy into his hand, Sieg held in the tears as he prepared to fire.

"Just run away Pixie, get out of there" Laurie whispered over and over.

'Don't do it Sieg, I know that kind of thing isn't you' Cable thought, he had already figured out it was Sieg underneath the armour.

'May he forgive me!' Sieg thought as he prepared to fire the blast.

It was then that Sieg saw pink particles of pixie dust in the air. The hammer agents waved their arms about, trying to get the dust out of their eyes. Sieg lowered his arm and looked towards the sky in shock.

"ALL OF YOU GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Pixie yelled as she slammed her feet into Vargas's back.

Drawing her soul dagger, Pixie stabbed Vargas in the back. He yelled in pain and released his grip on the alien. The other aliens saw the Hammer agents distracted by this one girl and took this as their chance to run. Megan released a cloud of pixie dust, causing the Hammer agents to cough and stare in confusion at the fields of flowers they saw. Gothica burst into laughter as he wrapped his dark tentacles around seven of the escaping aliens.

"Where's Sentry?" Gothica asked.

"Disposing of the aliens in Texas, don't worry I'll get the other aliens" Vargas said, drawing his sword and running after the aliens.

"Which means we still need to determine whether you've got the balls to see things through Sieg" Gothica said.

Pixie widened her eyes and looked at Sieg in shock.

"Sieg…what are you doing?"

"Megan…what are you doing this drunk?" Sieg asked.

_It was another day that Sieg spent at the X-mansion. Unfortunately it was a night where Alison had suggested a night on the town with Jean-Paul and Megan. Of course Logan followed, but everyone knew it was almost impossible to get him drunk. That wasn't the case with Megan and Ali, who were stumbling across the floor. Whilst Cyclops lectured Ali and Jean-Paul, Megan teleported into the woods outside the mansion. Sieg followed her, supporting her as they began walking back towards the mansion. They stopped near the river, looking up at the full moon, illuminating them like a spotlight._

"_You're a hero" Megan said._

_Sieg looked at Megan, who looked up at him smiling. The silver haired boy widened his eyes as Megan bought her face closer towards him._

"_You're a true hero…thank you for saving me"_

_Sieg widened his eyes as Megan pressed her lips against his. He gripped her shoulders, pushing her off lightly._

"_Megan I'm with Celeste and your drunk you don't know what your doing" Sieg said._

"_Your true nature comes out when you're drunk, she's a slut!"_

_Swinging his head round, Sieg gasped as Celeste walked towards them. Her skin changed into a diamond material as she got closer and closer to Megan, raising her hand into a fist._

"_Celeste don't!" Sieg said._

_Celeste swung her fist forward, but her diamond hard knuckle slammed into Sieg's sword. Grinding his teeth together, Sieg stabbed his sword into the ground._

_"She's just confused all right" Sieg growled._

_**"Are you sure your not the one confused"**_

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU MEAN BACK THEN!!!" Sieg yelled in the white void that had once contained his hero. "WHY COULDN'T I REMEMBER IT TILL NOW! WHY WONT YOU TALK TO ME! GUIDE ME! Please…tell me what to do" Sieg fell to his knees, slamming his fist against the floor. "I never wanted to take your name, and yet it seems I end up being like you all the same…SHOW ME WHAT A TRUE HERO WOULD DO!!!!"

The void flashed and Sieg found himself back in the desert, faced with a difficult decision. Gothica wrapped his tentacles around Pixie's arms and legs, holding her above the ground. For a moment her hair and wings flashed a black colour as she felt a draining sensation.

"So much darkness in this girls soul and yet her personality is enveloped in light, and impressive power…here's your test Sieg, kill her!" Gothica said.

Vargas swung his sword round, beheading one of the alien escapees. No matter how fast they ran they couldn't outrun the true next step in human evolution. He tackled one of them to the floor, raising his blade. But a red flash caught his attention.

"And just who are you supposed to be?" Vargas asked with a chuckle.

* * *

In Wakanda, T'Challa looked over the destruction of his homeland. He never thought of Princess Zanda as an intelligent person, but right now she was attacking along with a contingent of Karabai's men, led by one of his generals Gijutsu. The armoured man walked across the smoking ruins of the Wakandan square, drawing a sword from his back. Wakandan warriors began to burst out of their hiding places, aiming their rifles and spears at Gijutsu. He put his hand to his sword hilt and ran forward at incredible speed. The warriors fired, and showed no surprise as the alien warrior sliced the bullets apart with fast swings of his sword. He ran across the wall, beheading one warrior and ducking just as another thrust his spear forward. Gijutsu snapped the tip of the spear, slashing the warrior across the throat with his sword. Then he threw the spear tip into the head of another. Rolling across the floor, Gijutsu split his sword into two thinner blades, stabbing the last two warriors in the stomach.

"Gigas possessed growth, I possess skill, is there no one on this pathetic world with skills to actually make me sweat?" Gijutsu wondered aloud as he swung his swords round, the blood on the blades dripped onto the floor as he walked forward. "Humans, even when a greater threat is at large they turn on one another…I guess they aren't as different from every other race as it has been thought"

T'Challa breathed in and out, his wounds were healing slowly but he was still in no condition to join the battle. But Princess Zanda was approaching, awaiting his answer. In order to avoid war and Wakanda's destruction T'Challa needed to make a sacrifice. Zanda's offer was an alliance through marriage. The sacrifice that T'Challa would have to make was his love for Ororo, a marriage to Princess Zanda. It was the only way that he could save his people; an alliance with Zanda would give him an edge against the invaders considering the technology she had attained. But how had she attained such technology? It was a similar question that Gijutsu asked himself, the troops attacking Wakanda were dropping like flies. But they were still no match for Karabai's elite guard, who ploughed through Zanda's troops. The Wakanda elites ran out of the palace, running soldiers through with their spears.

'You are king of Wakanda T'Challa, you need to decide what is best for your people' T'Challa thought before pressing a button on his throne. "People of Wakanda, I have come to my decision, you have prepared for this day, be ready to initiate my fathers final plan"

* * *

Noh-Varr watched as the Dark Avengers continued battling the New Warriors. Michael punched Dakan across the head whilst Patrick slammed his feet into Moonstone's chest.

"We don't have a pick up, we're going to have to get out of here on our own" James said.

Justice threw Norman against the wall, focusing his TK in an effort to hold all the Avengers in place. But Ares fired a grenade at Justice, forcing him to cover himself with a shield, but the blast dazzled his senses, sending him falling towards the ground. MVP jumped up, catching Vance and landing beside Sophia.

"Have you and Thrash got anything hidden in those suits of yours?" MVP asked.

"Nothing that could help us out right now" Renascence said.

James limped forward slightly before falling to the ground. He crawled across the dirt towards the three New Warriors. There was one way he could help the others escape at least. But it would take a lot of energy out of him. Noh-Varr dodged a swipe from Night thrasher, elbowing him in the head.

Was this really the right thing to do? Was this defending the Earth?

* * *

They deserved to die, those who spread hatred deserved to be killed. As the Kill Krew soldiers began to run out of their hiding places, the Skrull women covered their children. Slade got up off the floor, the black side of his armour became more menacing than it ever had, spikes stuck out of his back and a bat like wing stretched out of his shoulder. A giant black scythe appeared in his hand and one look from his red eyes caused the men to quiver. He saw the evil acts they had performed, these psychos had been eating Skrull flesh just as Ryder had. Eating the flesh like dogs, and what happened to sick dogs. They got put down!

"DIE!!!" Slade yelled, and with one swing of his blade he launched an energy wave that cut apart the soldiers.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE RYDER! IT WAS JUST A CHILD!!!" 3D-man yelled at Ryder, throwing him against the wall.

"They were Skrulls man, we need to kill them all to avoid an invasion" Ryder said.

"BULLSHIT!!" Delroy slammed his fist into Ryder's face, cracking his sunglasses. "It's that disease of yours, you need help it's the only way you'll get rid of your hate"

"Oh right like you're a saint, you shot a Skrull in the back of the head without so much as hearing why he killed his own kind" Ryder growled.

"Then you both deserve to die!"

Ryder and 3D-man looked up as Slade floated over them. They were going to pay for their ruthlessness. No, they could still be used. But Ryder's hate was consuming him; it would take an act of god to stop him. The Skrulls began firing their guns as invader grunts flew around them.

"SLADE HELP US!!!" Skarvis yelled.

Slade looked towards the Skrulls, then at the Kill Krew. His arms shook as he raised his scythe over his head. They needed to be punished quickly before all the Skrulls died. No they needed to be saved.

"I will destroy hate, not lives!" Slade said.

He flew off of the roof, punching one of the invaders across the head. But his dark side had other plans; his black arm swung its scythe round, beheading one invader. Slade swung his scythe round wildly, yelling as he tried to gain control.

"You see Ryder, that guys fighting his darkness…why cant you just put your hate behind you and see the bigger picture? Do you really want to be involved in genocide?" 3D-man asked.

"First question I cant be assed! Second question why the hell do you think I didn't stop" Ryder said with a grin.

"That's too bad!"

The two men heard the hissing voice and looked down into one of the alleyways. They widened their eyes as a series of white tentacles flew out of the shadows. Wrapping themselves around Ryder, 3D-man quickly drew his pistol as a white creature crawled onto the roofs. It had a black spider on its chest and a black face with a jaw and elongated tongue.

"What the hell are you?" Ryder asked as the tentacles tied themselves around his neck.

"The darkness in human hearts is a disease, a Venom destroying humanity, I am an Anti-Venom!"

Slade roared, hacking apart the invaders. He didn't want this, why was it happening now? It all came down to a choice he had to make, but he couldn't bring himself to make that sacrifice. Falling to his knees, Slade let go of the scythe and bashed his hands against the floor. Slowly he began to change to his human form. Breathing heavily, Slade let the Skrulls help him up. There was evil inside every sentient being in the universe. If they claimed they weren't capable of cruelty then they were lying. Eddie Brock knew that better than anyone, which was why he set out to destroy the evil, starting with Ryder.

But Eddie knew he wouldn't be able to purge Slade. Whenever he even thought of the possibility he felt a voice in his head telling him not to rob the man of his dark side. Whatever Slade was, he might just be the only one that can save the Earth from its darkness, at least so that its people could unite to defend their home. Slade put a hand to his head, feeling the darkness inside him.

"**You know what you have to do, the question is can you make that sacrifice?"**

* * *

Yes he could make the sacrifice necessary to save his people. He made his choice, and he continued to live by that choice as Princess Zanda approached his throne. T'Challa had ripped the life support devices from his chest, turning to more traditional bandages.

"Have you made your choice?" Zanda asked, removing her helmet.

Bucky continued to bash an elite guards head in with his shield, huffing and puffing as sweat ran down his neck. He got off the floor, reaching for his radio.

"NATASHA! I NEED MULTIPLE TRANSPORTS HERE NOW!!!" he yelled.

Captain America ran as fast as he could into the palace, he needed to stop T'Challa from making his sacrifice. Shuri continued to defend her brother's people, killing aliens and Zanda's soldiers to ensure they were safe.

"I choose the alliance" T'Challa said without emotion.

Zanda smiled as she removed her armour; finally the king saw things her way.

"Our union will make history T'Challa, we will unite Africa, turn it into the breadbasket of this world" Zanda said, cupping T'Challa's cheeks and bringing their lips together.

T'Challa suddenly swung his arm, stabbing Zanda in the chest. He growled as he pushed the woman away, leaving her to fall to the floor.

"I will never sacrifice my love, nor will I destroy Wakanda" T'Challa growled as he got off his throne.

Gijutsu walked out of the shadows, his arms crossed as he examined the scene.

"What a pathetic woman, she was so easily deceived, but you king T'Challa, you have assured the destruction of your kingdom" Gijutsu said.

"The Kingdom isn't the walls or the land, but rather the people who live on it, my people are running and with them they take memories, architects, artists and seeds so that Wakanda and the line of the Black Panther will not fall" T'Challa explained as he brandished the knife and put on his mask.

"I think I've heard enough of your talk, goodbye great king!" Gijutsu said as he drew his sword.

But it was T'Challa who moved first, letting out a roar as he ran at the general. Bucky reached the throne room, widening his eyes as Gijutsu rammed his blade into T'Challa's chest. The Wakandan king spat his blood onto Gijutsu's helmet as he laughed.

"Haven't you noticed…what's on the walls?" T'Challa asked.

Gijutsu looked around him and widened his eyes; strapped to the walls of the throne room were a series of explosives, all set before Zanda's arrival. He tried to take his blade out of T'Challa's chest, but gasped as the king held on tight to the blade and his shoulder.

"Let go you stupid human or you'll die" Gijutsu growled.

"Run Captain…as for you Gijutsu…if you aren't prepared to die for your people then you don't have the right to be king"

"YOU FOOL! YOU WILL LEAVE THIS WORLD WITHOUT AN HEIR!!!"

"RUN CAPTAIN!! And your are wrong Gijutsu…I have already secured my legacy"

With a smile, T'Challa turned his head to Bucky and uttered one last word.

"Good luck Captain!"

Bucky raised his shield as the explosives went off, releasing a shock wave that sent him flying out of the walls of the castle. He fell towards the ground, feeling his back slam into something hard. Disorientated, Bucky looked at where he had landed, the bonnet of a S.H.I.E.L.D. hover car, being driven by Natasha. Then his eyes looked towards the Wakandan palace, consumed in a magnificent ball of fire. That was the choice that T'Challa had to make, a heroic sacrifice that saved his people and showed the invaders just how serious the humans were. In the ruins of the throne room, a purple slug like creature crawled out of the rubble. It began to shake and take shape into a purple skinned man. Black hair stuck out of the back of his head, whilst pieces of samurai styled armour covered his chest, shoulders and arms.

"It seems Karabai was right, this planet really is worth making our capital" Gijutsu said, his lips twisting into a smile as his red eyes looked at the remains of T'Challa. "Bury the skeleton, ensure a monument is built to commemorate him and our victory today" He told his men, bowing his head in respect.

In the Fantastic Four's tower, the future Black Panther looked at the screen as it repeated the explosion that consumed the Wakandan palace. He dropped his head slightly, squeezing his fists together in anger. Iron Warlord came up behind him, touching his shoulder.

"T'Chaka, it was a necessary sacrifice" He said.

The Black Panther immediately turned around and slammed his fist into Warlord's head, knocking him to the ground. Hawkeye and Spider-man moved towards the Black Panther but stopped as Warlord held his arm out. He shook his head, signalling them to back off. Pressing his hand against the screen, the Black Panther moved his other hand to his mask. He threw the mask off, revealing a young African man with a white streak in his black hair. Tears ran down his face as he stared at the ruins of Wakanda.

"Father…FATHER!!!!" He yelled, almost roaring, mourning the death of a father he would never know.

* * *

James held onto Sophia and MVP for support, watching as the two Scarlet Spider's did their best to hold the Avengers off. Norman slammed his fist into Patrick's face, sending him flying into Donyell's arms. Michael activated the blasters on his Waldoes, firing multiple shots at the Avengers. He continued to bombard the powerhouses like Ares and Moonstone with blasts, whilst using his web shooters to tie up Noh-Varr and Venom. Noh-Varr cut the webs that bound him and prepared to rush forward. Suddenly a purple arrow flew past his head, flying straight into Michael's kneecap. The clone fell to the floor, but continued to fire his blasters. Moonstone fired a blast; knocking Justice and Nightthrasher back, preventing them from aiding Michael. Norman opened his gauntlets, revealing a pair of flamethrowers.

"MICHAEL!!!" Patrick yelled as Norman fired the throwers, covering Michael's left side in flames.

He stumbled round, disorientated from the burns. Michael then widened his eyes as he came face to face with Bullseye.

"The good news is that Hawkeye doesn't kill kid…bad news is that I'm not Hawkeye" The assassin said with a grin.

"NO!!!" Patrick yelled as Bullseye rammed an arrow into Michael's chest.

Noh-Varr stared at the body as it fell to the ground. The Warriors stayed silent, staring at the body of their fallen comrade. Bullseye laughed, licking the blood off the arrow and smiling like a girl. Venom however licked his chops, staring at the body. Noh-Varr walked forward, looking down at the body. It was then that he made his choice, grabbing Michael by his collar he hammer threw the clone into his brothers arms. Then he looked towards Norman and the other Avengers. They were murderers, not soldiers and certainly not heroes. These Dark Avengers were without honour, without mercy or compassion, everything that made a hero a hero. They weren't the Avengers Mar-Vell joined. And if Noh-Varr was to claim the name Captain Marvel then they couldn't be the Avengers he stayed with either.

"Mr Crowner, take your Warriors and run" Noh-Varr said, without turning his back to the Avengers.

"What about you…what are you going to do?" James asked.

"Become a true defender of the Earth" Noh-Varr whispered.

James heard what the Kree had said and nodded his head. He then nodded to the other Warriors.

"What are you waiting for humans, I will hold them off!" Noh-Varr said then widened his eyes as the Warriors walked to his side.

"Here's how's its going to be Osborn, your going to let us go and take our wounded away and not follow us, otherwise next time I bring an army of very pissed off heroes and trash your billion dollar tower and ruin your chances of being a hero" James growled, looking at Osborn defiantly.

Osborn looked at the Warriors, putting a hand to his chin. He had quite visibly lost the advantage in this fight, his own Avengers were getting tired and he was running out of energy.

"Very well…but I still get to keep the Aeon name" Osborn grinned underneath the helmet as James grinded his teeth together.

"Everyone, we're retreating, Captain leave them a little something to remember us by!"

Noh-Varr nodded his head as yellow energy began to rise from his fake Nega-bands.

"CONSIDER THIS MY RESIGNATION!!!" He yelled, firing a blast of energy, sending Norman flying across the street.

The Avengers covered their eyes from the flashes of light emanating from the beam. When they turned to the Warriors they widened their eyes for James, Noh-Varr and the New Warriors were gone.

* * *

Sieg looked at Megan, squirming under the grip of Gothica's tentacles. He needed to make a choice, risk his whole plan or Pixie's life. There was no choice at all, he needed to save Pixie.

_"Well Megan, are you gonna tell me what that was all about?" Wolverine asked the now sober Megan._

"_Ooooh my head…I didn't realise that drowning your sorrows makes you feel sick" The Welsh girl sighed._

"_Ali and Jean-Paul are in big trouble you know, where on Earth did you get served?" Logan asked._

"_I'm the legal age in Canada" She pointed out._

_Logan cursed under his breath, remembering the girl's teleportation spells. She could pretty much go half way across the world and be back in time for curfew._

"_So, you like Sieg huh…took you long enough to get a crush on people your own age" The gruff Canadian said._

"_Yeah…but he likes Celeste" Megan said, dropping her head in disappointment._

"_Well, you never know how relationships turn out in this world, if things always went as expected then I would have been married with a few kids by now…well there is the one"_

"_What was that Mr Logan?"_

"_Nothing kid don't worry about it, Sieg's a nice guy and I'm happy for you, just try to drink in countries with weaker beer all right…and no mixing drinks young lady"_

"_Yes sir! And Logan…thanks"_

Sieg was ready to move forward, but suddenly Vargas was thrown into Gothica. Pixie fell from the air, into the arms of a man in a black suit. His costume was all black with red eye lenses on his mask. He looked to Sieg, giving him a quick salute before pressing a button on a device on his belt. Before Sieg could react, the man and Pixie disappeared. Whoever was behind that mask had Sieg's gratitude. He didn't have to make his choice today, he continue his work against Osborn from inside the system. First he would find out what Osborn had planned, and then he would remind the Sentry of his true duty to the planet. And lastly he would set things right with his friends, including Celeste and Megan.

* * *

Megan awoke from her rest and looked at her surroundings. She was in a cave; a blanket was over her body while a fire was set a few feet away from her. Pixie got up off the floor, smiling as she saw Angel and Deadpool. But both were wearing black and silver clothing, and Warren himself looked completely different. His wings were made of a metal material whilst his skin was a dark blue colour.

"_**Good to see the sleepyhead's awake…how are you?" **_Deadpool asked.

"Sieg, he's…I'm fine but where is Sieg and that man who saved me?" Pixie asked.

"Reckless…he's over there, as for Sieg you and Reckless were the only ones that came through the portal, this idiot trashed the transporter he was using as soon as you came through" Archangel explained.

Pixie looked towards the masked man standing at the edge of the cave. He was sliding a Ninjato into a sheath on his hip and looking down at a castle.

"What are we doing here?" Pixie asked.

"Rescuing Domino, and getting evidence to put Norman and Doom together…I don't know why that mute guy bought you, the work of X-force is too gruesome for a Pixie!"

Next Chapter 10: Inaction

* * *

That is that, sorry to the old school Black Panther fans, you'll see the aftermath of his and Michael's deaths next chapter, that and X-Force and Reckless begin their fight against Doom, Whilst Slade keeps his promise to the Scarlet Witch and 3D-Man confronts Crusader. So all in all quite a lot going on as usual :)

Review and tell me what you thought of the chapter please!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 10: Inaction

A city had fallen, but its people would live on. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents walked with the Wakandan refugees, protecting them as they began their long journey to the centre of Africa, where Crowner industries had set up a camp along with barriers to protect the surviving African population. Some went to the camp, others hid in the jungles or the ruins of the cities. Shuri walked amongst her people, still wearing the Black Panther costume. Until T'Challa and Ororo's child was old enough she would bear the burden of the Black Panther mantle. Wakanda would honour their king and return to their home, but for now they would survive. Shuri looked up at the S.H.I.E.L.D transport, giving them a wave as it flew away from the refugees. James sat inside the transport medical quarters, having the cuts he received treated by a Night Nurse Georgia Jenkins.

"You should be more careful Mr Barnes, though thank you for everything you've done here" Georgia said, stitching up one of Bucky's cuts.

"What were you doing here anyway Miss Jenkins?" Natasha asked.

"I left America to help in the undeveloped villages, I never actually thought I'd get back into this whole treating for super heroes gig…how are Linda and Christine by the way?" She asked.

"James told me he put Linda Carter in charge of the medical bay at headquarters, I heard on the streets that a red haired nurse called Christine has been running a clinic for heroes wounded on the battlefield, she's been treating both registered and unregistered heroes" Bucky explained.

"Thank you for bringing me guys, I want to go wherever people need the help" Georgia said.

"No problem, the Initiative is focusing on America, we're focusing on the rest of the world"

* * *

Ryder had never been more shocked in his life. Everything he had ever believed, his hate for the Skrulls and his love of their meat was gone. Purged from his mind and body, and for the first time in his life he felt fear as he looked up at Anti-Venom. Brock walked past the soldier, grunting as he walked past.

"You take away hate and you don't know what to do with yourself…how pathetic" He said.

3D-man looked down at Ryder, the respect he previously held for him was gone. And unlike Ryder he would face what he had done, walking out of the alleyway, Delroy put his hands on his head as he walked towards the Skrulls. Some cowered in fear, whilst others aimed their pistols.

"Please…no more death, it has to end without genocide" Slade said. "From this point forward we work together, we fight to defend our home"

"WHAT!!" Ryder yelled from the alleyway. "They invade our planet and we let them in, you don't have the right to speak for our race, they should find some other place to live!" He explained.

"Right now they have no ships to leave, no place to go…only one man who will show them kindness, so right now SLADES THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO SPEAK FOR OUR RACE!!!" Eddy yelled.

"Brock calm down, Ryder if you want a place to stay then you come with us…but if you show anymore signs of hatred than I don't care whether we're under attack your on your ass understand?" Slade growled. "The blood shed ends right here"

Ryder hesitantly looked at the Skrulls and gasped in shock. Alien or not they were people, they had children, that meant they experienced love. They defended themselves, that meant they experienced fear and had a desire to protect what they cherished. For so long he had tracked them, killed them, only resting to consume them. He treated them like animals, even executed ones that wanted to surrender.

"What have I done…oh Jesus, you might as well put a white hood and mask on me" Ryder said.

Slade looked at the mans hand, shivering as it reached for the holster on his hip.

"I'll never be forgiven…nor will I forgive myself!" Ryder said.

"NO!!!" Slade yelled.

But he wasn't fast enough; no one was fast enough to stop Ryder from putting the gun to his chin and pulling the trigger. Yet there was one person fast enough, he held Ryder's hand firmly, stopping him from removing his pistol.

"Driver" Slade said.

The said speedster smacked Ryder across the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Damn Slade doesn't anything normal happen when you go out, I'll get this idiot back to the base and pick you guys up later ok?" Driver asked, throwing Ryder onto his shoulder.

Before Slade could nod his head, Driver dashed off. He shook his head and sat down, awaiting the speedster's arrival.

The underground base had quickly been crowded by the presence of the surviving Skrulls. Even the atmosphere had gotten worse with their arrival, Slade had to prevent a few fights, especially with the arrival of Eddie Brock.

"Didn't this guy used to wear the Venom suit?" Justice asked, standing his ground, even when Eddy wasn't wearing his suit.

"Yeah, but he was sort of a nicer Venom without the eating limbs" Spider-man said, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Well he got rid of that Skrull disease thing that infected Ryder, I'm still trying to work out whether that was a good thing or not" 3D-man said. "Still, the things he's done are unforgivable!"

"AND SO ARE THE THINGS YOU'VE DONE!!!"

3D-man turned around, to receive a punch across the face courtesy of a very angry Crusader. Spider-man and Justice held the man back and gasped as he shifted into his Skrull Form.

"I saved the planet and you just executed me, why because I was a Skrull?" Crusader asked with a glare.

"You could have been an enemy" 3D-man said. "And besides why didn't you tell us you were a Skrull, we would have forgiven you"

"NO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE!!!" James yelled as he walked into the room. "NOT ONE PERSON IN THE INITIATIVE WOULD HAVE FORGIVEN! THEY'VE LOST THEIR HEROISM! I saw what you did, you pulled the trigger without hesitation, and you just shrugged it off and walked away because he was just a Skrull, so don't you dare think you're a hero Triathlon, Avenger or not your no hero" James glared. "Leave him be Crusader, he isn't worth it…you know a friend of mine once said "its no wonder the Earth gets invaded so often…humans deserve to be hated""

3D-man looked at the man in shock whilst Crusader walked through the corridors of the base. He wore his Skrull form with pride, and he would fight as a Skrull, defending his new home.

* * *

Tony, Thor, Hank and Jennifer stood with Bucky as he told them of T'Challa's sacrifice.

"How did he die?" Tony asked.

"He died a hero Mr Stark…he died defending his kingdom till the end" Bucky said.

"I just cant believe it…I always imagined him and Ororo growing old together" Jennifer sighed, wiping a tear from her eye.

"You picture death a lot differently when you live our kind of life Jen, if things always went as we hoped then I would be married to Jan" Hank said.

The Avengers lowered their heads, remembering the countless battles they had fought at the Black Panthers side. T'Challa wasn't just a king, nor was he just a hero; he was a dedicated friend and a wise man who always sought to do what was right. Each one of the Avengers would miss him greatly. They shed their tears as they got onto their transports. Though they lost a friend, they couldn't rest until the Earth was defended. In their minds they mourned those lost, but for now their bodies would have to get out into the world and fight to defend it.

* * *

At Camp Hammond, the heroes under Osborns command as well as old Avengers looked at the TV screen as T'Challa's death was reported. Tigra put her hands to her eyes whilst Wonder Man put his arms around her. Stingray grinded his teeth together before he walked towards the TV. He slammed his fist into the set, shattering the screen.

"THOSE BASTARDS KILLED HIM!" He yelled.

"Walter I understand your upset" Joseph began.

"THEY KILLED HIM AND WE DID NOTHING! WE DID NOTHING TO HELP EVEN THOUGH WE COULD HAVE!!!" Stingray yelled out. "We've done nothing" he whispered.

For so long the Avengers were able to do what was right. But the Registration act stopped them. At San Francisco, Cyclops held Jean as the two of them heard of T'Challa's death and Wakanda's fall. Wolverine walked onto a beach at Hawaii, growling as he looked at the capital ships in the sky. He wasn't out of the fight yet. None of the heroes could stop they needed to keep fighting. Only the wounded stopped, and it would only be for a moment as Captain America threw himself back into the fighting. Falcon flew across the city of Venice, yelling as he slammed into a group of alien grunts. She-Hulk ran into a group of alien robots in Paris, smashing them to bits with her bare hands. Tears flew off of her eyes as she swung her hands into the cores of the machines.

* * *

Wanda sat behind Slade, the two of them in a jet flying to their next mission. She knew T'Challa, but had never really connected with him as much as Tony or Hank would. But he was still her teammate; maybe she could bring him back. And yet, her fear held her back, what would happen if she crossed that line. Leaning her head back, Wanda wiped her eyes.

"If you think you can do something then do it for the right reasons" Slade said.

"I know…I just can't believe I'm finally going to meet my sons face to face"

"I promised you Wanda, I am a man of my word"

"Thank god the Young Avengers have a Skrull in their ranks, but what do I say…I killed so many of our friends, even the Vision"

"But they have a Vision with them"

"He's not really the same one…god Billy and Tommy, they're practically almost adults now" Wanda said.

"Then you've got a lot to catch up on" Slade smiled.

* * *

The Young Avengers currently resided inside a cave in mount Wundagore. Though they managed to get out of their fight with the Avengers of the future without injury they were still fatigued as well as lost.

"Avengers from the future…Avengers working for the government and against it, things were so much simpler before all this" Stature said, Vision beside her, keeping her warm with his cloak.

Patriot blew and rubbed his hands together whilst Speed shivered at a rate faster than anyone thought possible.

"Damn if my feet weren't so cold I'd run and get us a bucket of chicken" Tommy said.

"Or maybe do something useful like tell the other heroes about these guys from the future" Hulkling suggested.

"How do we even know these guys were from the future?" Kate asked.

"They are from the future, they are using technology that will be introduced twenty years from now, that and their costumes are of heroes that are alive at the moment, so it would be logical to assume that they are heroes from the future" Vision explained.

"Billy, we really need to get out of here" Eli said.

"I honestly tried to teleport some time ago Eli, but something seems to be keeping me here" Wiccan said.

"So I guess we're stuck here for now!"

* * *

Despite the loss of Noh-Varr and the Kill Krew, Norman Osborn still had a few tricks up his sleeves. His Avengers were already in the city, attacking a group of alien grunts. They attacked without mercy, completely annihilating the enemy forces. Sentry and Sieg returned from their sweep of America, both men gathering with the Dark Avengers in their conference room.

"Where's Captain Marvel?" Sentry asked.

"He had a change of heart Bob, if you find him then I want him bought in" Norman said, the plates of his armour flying into the device on his belt.

Sieg contained a smile as he sat at the table, between Moonstone and Bulls eye. Unlike the others he didn't remove his helmet, choosing to cover his face as Norman addressed the team.

"All right our next mission is simple, Hawkeye and I will go to Camp Hammond and muster some of our forces, Ms Marvel, Ares and Aeon will go to Hawaii with Miss Hand and defeat Karabai's general and underwater fleet there whilst Spider-man returns to Thunderbolts mountain, his new orders will be waiting along with the Thunderbolts new leader" Norman explained.

"What will Wolverine and I be doing?" Sentry asked.

"You Bob will stay here and watch over the city, I have a very important mission for Wolverine, all right Avengers your dismissed, the transport for the Hawaiian team will leave in twenty minutes so make sure your all ready"

The team got off their chairs and went about their separate rituals, Ares was getting food off of the table whilst Gargan and Bullseye left to prepare. Sieg did what he usually did, looked at the Avengers painting, keeping his ears open. Osborn and Daken were just a few feet away from him, discussing something about a new team.

"I want you to go down to the basement level and meet them…also report to me on the progress of the Omega machine" Norman said.

Daken grudgingly nodded his head, walking down the corridor. Once Osborn was out of sight, Sieg followed Daken. He kept close to the walls, making sure he walked softly and quietly. Daken walked into one of the elevators and pressed the button that would take him down to the basement. Sieg pried the doors open and sighed, it was going to be a long drop.

* * *

Pixie walked with X-force in the mountains of Latveria. Archangel was flying in the clouds, awaiting the signal to attack. Reckless looked down at the castle, all the possible entry points were covered. Doom bots were spread out across the grounds, no possible entry point and no Hammer agents that would suggest that Osborn and Doom were allied. Looking over his shoulder he nodded his head at Deadpool.

"_**One incredibly explosive distraction coming right up!" **_He said.

"I'm reporting several snipers on the roof…should we really be doing this, I don't think Doom leaves a "I'm involved with Osborn" letter lying around anywhere, still Scott thinks it's a good idea so I'm going with him…god damn it what does it take to make this guy talk?" Warren wondered.

Deadpool casually walked towards the castles main gate, putting his hands up as the doom bots targeted him with their cannons. Pixie looked over Reckless's shoulder, watching as Deadpool reached for the grenades on his belt. He suddenly leapt into the air, throwing the grenades at the doom bots around him. Wade fell into the explosion, rushing out of the flames with most of his costume burnt off. He drew his two automatics, stretching his arms out and firing at the doom bots on the rooftop. Gradually the Doom bots began to converge on Deadpool's location, giving Reckless an entry point at the far end of the castle.

"God damn it Reckless don't go rushing off without telling me…just give me a nod or a finger wag if your actually mute" Warren said.

Pixie ran alongside Reckless, who jumped onto the wall, climbing up towards the window as if it was a mountain. She took flight, peaking through the window.

"It's all clear" She told Reckless, who jumped through the window, keeping a hand on his hilt as he began walking through the castle.

Megan followed the man, watching him walk. She couldn't help but see Sieg in the way he moved.

_Joint training was a day that nobody looked forward to. Cable, Wolverine and Cyclops were incredible taskmasters. The X-men teams gathered at San Francisco, beginning their training exercise. Pixie and the Young X-men team were partnered with Havok's team consisting of him Polaris and Bobby. Of course the three-person team wasn't alone Sieg joined them. Pixie sighed as she watched Sieg warm up for the fight, swinging on the gym bars._

"_Megan…why don't you tell him how you feel?" Mercury asked._

"_He doesn't feel the same way, he's dating Celeste, smart, attractive and daring Celeste" Megan said._

"_You aren't exactly going to attract him if you don't start being daring" Hellion said._

"_All right everybody lets begin" Forge said from the danger rooms control room._

_The Young X-men were the first to move, Hellion fired a blast of Telekinesis at Havok's team. But Bobby blocked the blast with an ice shield, and then slid towards the Young X-men on his ice slide. He smacked Ink and Elixir across the head, and fired an ice blast at Rockslide's arm. The powerhouse shattered the ice and ran at Bobby. But a blast from Havok flew into his side. Polaris lifted several metallic spheres into the air, launching them at the young students. Pixie flew to the side whilst Anole leapt across the room, dodging the hail of bullets. Mercury merely took the projectiles, stretching herself towards Polaris with her blades ready. But Lorna put her hands together and Mercury suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her liquid form suddenly spread across the floor._

"_There's a reason they call me Magneto's daughter missy!" She said with a smirk._

_Hellion prepared to fire a TK blast at Polaris, but suddenly Sieg jumped from the monkey bars, kicking Julian across the head. He grabbed onto Julian's collar, pulling him towards the ground. With a spin, Sieg hammer threw Julian into Elixir. Sieg summoned his sword as Ink and Surge approached him. He blocked Anole's punch with the hilt of his sword, countering with a backhand to the mutant's head. Surge fired a stream of electricity at Sieg, who dispelled the energy with one swing of his sword. He ran forward, clothes lining both Ink and Surge. _

"_Sorry guys but you cant afford to expect someone showing mercy in a fight…that's what the spirit told me" Sieg said with a smile._

'_God he's so cute and strong, why couldn't I have a big chest like the Cuckoos' Pixie thought._

"_Pixie pay attention!" Forge said from the control room._

_Megan unleashed a mist of pixie dust, but widened her eyes as Sieg dispelled the mist. He leapt forward, swinging his sword downwards. Pixie summoned her soul dagger, slamming it against Sieg's sword. The two of them floated in the air, blue and pink energy rising from their forms. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light and the two of them disappeared._

Sieg put a hand to his head as he remembered the last time he had seen the spirit in the void. How could he have forgotten that? Did Pixie's soul dagger have anything to do with it? Pixie too felt confused as she just remembered her time in the spirits world.

_They looked around the white void, Sieg sighing as the spirit appeared._

"_This isn't about me and Celeste again is it?" Sieg asked._

_"**No, you're entitled to be with who you want to be with…but still be careful with her okay"**_

"_Is there something else you want?"_

_The spirit turned around, lifting his visor up._

"_Be ready for the future Siegfried…Osborn, Doom, the Hood, Loki and even the Frost…they're aligned, with Scott and Jean back together there is nothing keeping Emma Frost loyal to the X-men, I've been getting flashes of Osborn and this Cabal of super powered beings and not just that, flashes of a possible future, a world overcome by darkness, no freedom or Heroism remaining…people are going to die Sieg and something has to be done to stop those deaths from occurring, Osborn's the least of our worries…something from a completely different world is on its way and for the first time in a few years I feel scared…GOD DAMN IT I WISH I COULD DO SOMETHING!!!" He yelled._

_Sieg looked at the spirit in shock, never had he seen his hero act this way. For once he saw him as not a wise and powerful spirit, but a man torn apart by his inability to help. Pixie put her hand to her mouth, she had only briefly seen this spirit in the white-hot room, and he filled the X-men with hope in their darkest hour. Now he was the one who needed faith._

"_Sieg this is the last time I'll be able to talk to you…DON'T TRUST FROST OR CELESTE! NEVER GIVE UP AND NEVER COMPROMISE!!!"_

_In a flash of light, Sieg and Pixie appeared in the danger room. Megan blushed as Sieg landed on top of her. The two looked into one another's eyes for a moment before they separated._

'What did you mean when you said don't trust them?' Sieg wondered as he reached the basement of the tower.

The basement was incredibly dark, though Sieg could make out that most of the walls were an orange or red colour. He crept through the shadows, hiding behind the numerous stacks of boxes that filled the room. Sieg peeked over one of the boxes, seeing a strange machine in the corner of the room, the machines appeared to be connected to some kind of operating table. He saw Daken walked towards the machine alongside Beast.

'What the heck is Beast doing here? And why is his fur so dark?'

"Impressive isn't it?" Beast asked.

"Whatever, where are the others?" Daken asked.

"Cloak and Dagger rejected Osborn's offer, and Namor is missing, but we have good replacements for them" Beast said.

Two men walked out of the shadows and Sieg widened his eyes. One was Michael Pointer, the Omega Flight member that had absorbed that mutant energies released after M-Day and a person whom Sieg had detailed information on. Calvin Rankin, AKA the Mimic, a mutant with the ability to copy the powers of different mutants, most of his abilities were those of the original X-men including Beasts strength and Angel's wings.

'This doesn't look good' Sieg thought as the four mutants stood side by side.

"Now alls we need to do is find a mutant to test it on" Beast said with a grin.

"I know of the perfect one!" A voice said in the shadows.

Sieg widened his eyes as another familiar X-men villain walked out of the shadows. Instead of her usual white dress she wore a pitch-black uniform. Last Sieg had heard, Logan had apparently left Mystique to die in the desert. Now it seemed she was back for Osborn's plan. But Sieg had to contain his anger and shock as Mystique dragged a young mutant named Adam X across the floor.

"He was far too easy to capture" A Japanese woman said, walking beside Mystique, her finger nails reaching to the ground.

'Lady Deathstrike and shit the Juggernaut!' Sieg thought, listing off the new members as Juggernaut walked out of the shadows in his black armour.

"So what's this thing do again Hank?" Mimic asked as Mystique dumped Adam beside the Omega machine.

"If Michael gets into the machine then we can demonstrate on one of our prisoners" Hank said.

"Yes sir" The former Guardian said as he strapped himself onto one of the tables.

"Oh Calvin how is your medication?" Beast asked.

"Its been working really great Hank, I never actually thought I was bipolar" Calvin said.

Sieg narrowed his eyes, was Mimic really bipolar? Later he needed to look at this "medication" Osborn was giving them. The person who walked out of the shadows next was one that put Sieg into complete shock. It was Emma Frost, dragging Hellion across the floor with the coldest look in her eyes. She gave her former student to Hank and Daken; the two of them dragged him across the floor and strapped him to the table of the Omega Machine.

"So you've betrayed them…cant say I couldn't see it coming" Mystique said.

"They still don't know of the Cabal, I wont be joining you on your first mission" Emma said, crossing her arms as Hank activated the machine. "Let them die for all I care, the man I loved was a fake, there is nothing else keeping me tied to them…its time for the world to get the X-men it needs" The White Queen said coldly.

"MISS FROST WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" Julian yelled.

His eyes glowed a green colour, but the telekinetic energy disappeared as Hank activated the machine. Julian thrashed around and yelled in pain as red energy sparked around his hands and feet. His breathing started to slow and Sieg gasped, as Julian's expression grew weaker. Whilst this was happening, Michael Pointer was smiling in delight as the power poured into his body. Emma merely watched the scene; she had nothing left to fight for in the X-men.

'Oh god, Aeon I'm sorry I didn't listen, you were right!' Sieg thought as he put his hands together. 'Please give me some guidance, tell me what to do…walk away or throw away all the spy work I'm doing, tell me what to do…please!' "Please guide me!" He whispered, tears staining the lenses of his helmet.

Julian's screamed began to silent as he slowly fainted. But the Dark Beast still drained the young mutant, wanting to see what his machine could really do. Mimic's hands twitched and he looked at them in confusion.

'The sacrifices we make are necessary, the sacrifices we make are necessary!' He thought over and over.

Emma merely smiled at Calvin's confusion, long gone was her love for her students. Now all that was left was the desire to make things better no matter the cost. Sieg put his hands to his head, grinding his teeth together as he tried to reach the void.

"I'm sorry Aeon…just please tell me what I need to do!"

"You pathetic piece of trash!"

Sieg opened his eyes to find himself in a completely black void. Standing before him was a warrior in black armour similar to the spirits, but with much sharper edges. He dragged a giant black scythe across the ground, frowning at Sieg.

"Who are you?" Sieg asked.

"A piece of the Blade of Death! If he and his rival were here now they would be ashamed, you're pathetic! You can't even see when someone needs help, you need to be told what to do…WELL I'M TELLING YOU SAVE HIM!!!" The Spirit yelled.

Sieg opened his eyes and gasped, for Julian had stopped yelling. But the Omega machine was still running, so he had to still have energy to drain. Without a moments more hesitation Sieg kicked the boxes aside and threw off his helmet. His eyes glowed a fierce blue colour as his muscles expanded. The armour around him shattered, revealing his usual costume. Emma looked towards Sieg and shifted into her diamond form as he flew forward. He slammed his fist into Emma's face, throwing her into the wall. Then he spread his arms out, yelling as his giant muscles shrank back to their regular size. He unleashed an explosion of energy that threw the Dark X-men back. Grabbing Adam and Julian, Sieg threw an energy blast into the Omega machine. While the Omega machine began to explode, Sieg fired an energy blast at the ceiling, drilling to the surface.

"CONSIDER THIS MY RESIGNATION OSBORN!!!" He yelled, dropping the Aeon helmet on Osborn's desk.

He flew as fast as he could away from the tower, huffing and puffing as he landed at the bottom of the statue of liberty. Laying Adam X and Hellion onto the floor, Sieg leant against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Blade of Death, I'm such an idiot!" Sieg said, wiping his tears away with a chuckle. "Sorry Julian, you can punch me if you want…Julian"

Sieg looked down at Julian in confusion.

"Julian come on man don't play around…Julian…Hellion! OH GOD NO!!!" Sieg screamed.

He ripped off Julian's shirt and pressed his hands against his chest. Counting down in his head, Sieg began to push down on Julian's chest, applying the CPR techniques that the spirit had taught him. Sieg held Julian's nose and chin, breathing into his mouth then pumping his chest.

"Come on Julian pull through…breathe man! Oh god please breathe" Sieg said as tears began to flow down his face.

Again and again he used his CPR techniques and every time he did it gained nothing. Sieg slammed his fists into the ground, rubbing his head against the dirt. Tears dripped onto the grass as the young man coughed. He yelled out, banging his fist against the floor again and again. This shouldn't have happened, he should have fought Osborn from the beginning. He killed invaders, even those that tried to surrender; he was even willing to kill those that couldn't defend themselves. And now his inaction had killed a friend.

"_You know Sven, Celeste's hot but I think you could do better…Pixie maybe!" _Julian had said with a grin.

"I've always got you back man, you saved us and your pretty cool when your not winy" The two young heroes shook hands and begun their training session.

_Standing side by side, they fired energy blasts and slashed apart the danger room robots. Laughing they leant against the walls, watching Forge yell over the damage._

"I'm so sorry Julian…shit! Shit! SHIT!!!" he screamed. "What right…do I have to call myself a hero when I don't act…it isn't not thinking that leads to tragedy, IT'S THINKING!! TRUE THE NEW WARRIORS CAUSED TRAGEDY BY ACTING! BUT HAS ANYONE HAS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THEY DIDN'T ACT!!!! WHY DOESN'T ANYONE ASK THAT HUH!!!!!"

No one could answer him and no one could hear him. So he yelled, he yelled and cried for his lost friend.

Next Chapter 11: The right path

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 11: The Right path

Joseph Green sat in his office, watching another Daily Bugle report of the war situation.

"With Four days remaining for Karabai's deadline America is mostly clear of alien invaders, though other countries have taken heavy casualties despite the intervention of an international team of Avengers, whether they are involved in Norman Osborn's Initiative is unknown at this point in time…we've just received word that Aeon has been dismissed from the Initiative, despite the loss of our supposed saviour, Norman Osborn promises our safety, multiple news organisation are gathering at Camp Hammond for the arrival of a new Initiative team" The reporter explained.

Leaning his head back Joseph sighed.

"You're an asshole" He said to himself.

Osborn was on his way, along with Hawkeye. If what the "reformed" villains said was true then Hawkeye was really Bullseye, one of Daredevils greatest enemies. The blind super hero was doomed, at least that's the way Joseph saw it. Outside, Puma, Typhoid Mary, Komodo, Batwing and Constrictor got onto a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport that would take them to their next mission.

"Shit I can't believe that Aeon guy left, he looked cool" Batwing said.

"Rumours say that the guy killed a prisoner then destroyed part of the tower" Komodo said.

"And lets not start believing everything that comes out of Strucker's mouth, I've watched the man, he hates Osborn and the unregistered heroes we bring in" Puma explained.

"I hear you buddy, guys like Strucker and the rest of those freaks are just in this for the glory, they don't believe in redemption" Constrictor said.

Typhoid Mary opened the envelope containing their mission details and merely shrugged her shoulders. The other members of the Shadow Initiative looked and acknowledged the orders they were given. Their mission was to hunt down and capture Sieg.

* * *

In LA, Chase and the other surviving Runaways ran to Molly's room to see the Hammer agents rolling her bed towards the door.

"Where are you taking her?" Chase asked with a growl.

One of the agents smacked Chase across the face, knocking him to the ground. Nico tried to reach for a scalpel but was kicked to the floor by another agents. The commander pressed a button on his gauntlet, shocking Xavin until he fell to the floor.

"What the hell are you people doing?" Jake asked as he ran into the room.

"Change of plan doc, Osborn wants us to take the Klara and Hayes girls to Avengers tower" The Commander said.

"Like hell you are Molly still hasn't recovered from her coma, Karolina barely survived surgery and Klara is in no condition to be fighting for Osborn" Jake explained.

"And whoever said she'd be fighting for us?" The Commander asked.

"Why else would Osborn want them and not the other Runaways?"

Victorious and Ant-woman smiled as they looked down at the hospital containing the Runaways.

"I remember this very well…someone's going to die today" Victorious grinned, looking to the future Captain America.

"And we'll make sure of it" Ant-Woman said, rubbing her hands against Victorious's chest.

Victorious pulled Ant-woman's helmet off, revealing her blonde hair and young features. He pressed his lips against hers, gripping her ponytail tightly.

"We will not cease to exist Cassie, I promise you that, its like War Lord says, the sacrifices we make are necessary" Victorious explained as he contacted Iron Warlord.

"Armoury disposed of Osborn's Young Avengers, including that fake Enchantress, where are Hawkeye and Spidey?" Cassie asked, putting her helmet back on.

"I've lost contact with them, but dont worry…complete your mission" Warlord said before cutting off the channel.

Victorious sighed; it was back to business as usual. Captain America watched as Victorious and Ant-woman took flight to the hospital. His memories of this day were fuzzy, alls he remembered was taking over the mantle for Bucky and helping Warlord to create a society of order. He remembered in vivid detail the punishments that Warlord put every super villain through. Public execution, Gertrude would have been ashamed of the barbarism. But other heroes like X-force and the Fantastic Four decided to end the killing. They fought the Avengers, engulfing the world in a Civil War. But eventually all of the rebels were defeated and with the aid of a traitor within X-force the heroes were brain washed into serving Iron Warlord.

'Is what we're doing really necessary?' Cap wondered before climbing down the edge of the building and running towards the Hospital.

* * *

Laurie laid down on the bed that had been put inside the subbasement. Rockslide, Dust and the adults minus Darwin and Cable had gone to assist in other countries. Now she was left with nothing to do but wonder why she was back. Leaning her head against the pillow, Laurie put her hands together and prayed for those who would die. Cable widened his eyes as he sensed a presence on the surface of mansion. He nodded to Kid Vulcan, who flew out of the subbasement and into the school grounds. Her red hair glistened in the sun light, like fire it waved around like it was alive. Gabriel stood ready in the presence of the beautiful woman, who reminded him so much of his brothers wife. She even wore a modified version of the very first X-men uniform, but the X on her chest was replaced with a symbol of the phoenix and in the place of the cowl she wore a domino mask.

"Who are you?" Vulcan asked, weary around this woman.

"The future!" She whispered with a smile. "We are all the future!"

Suddenly, multiple portals opened and out came future versions of the X-men. Bishop and Shard, a man in a blue suit with yellow bandages across his hands and face, someone wearing a version of the War Machine armour with the X-men colour scheme, a Chinese girl wearing the traditional X-men uniform, older versions of Rockslide, Surge, X-23 and Magik, a girl wearing a feminine version of Magneto's costume, a bulky boy with apelike feet, a blonde haired girl with Ruby skin and quartz shades and to Vulcan's surprise a white furred version of Beast and a perfectly healthy Daken wearing Wolverine's X-force uniform.

"Torque, Simian, Push, secure the others, I'll deal with Vulcan!" The red haired leader said, aiming a hand at Vulcan's chest.

Gabriel suddenly flew upwards as a blast of flame shot forth from the woman's hand. He looked down to see the members of this supposed X-men team run into the ruins of the mansion. Cable emerged from the mansion wreckage, using telekinetic energy to push Simian, Push and Torque away.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Darwin asked.

"They're from the future…that red head leading them is Hope!" Cable said.

"Whose Hope?"

"The mutant child that we made all that fuss about"

Hope raised her arms, creating two flaming phoenix talons. Cable flew forward, grabbing Hope by her cheeks and throwing her aside.

"I expect you not to go easy on me Hope" Cable said.

"Yes sir!" Was Hope's only response as she slashed Cable across the chest with her phoenix Talons.

"CABLE!!!" Noah yelled as the deaged mercenary fell to the floor.

"He'll be fine just focus on the fight" Darwin said as he kicked Shard across the face.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Ink asked the girl wearing the Magneto costume.

"I am Magneta, mistress of magnetism"

"Sure you are" Ink chuckled.

Magneta suddenly thrust her hands forward, smacking Ink with a steel girder. Gentle took a blast from Bishop and grappled with Simian. Torque span around, smacking Loa and Trance across the head. Match fired a stream of flames at Torque, who easily defended himself against the flames with his cyclone speed. But Indra and Onyxx ran forward, smashing Torque across the head. Onyxx yelled, jumping at Beast, but the elderly X-man slammed his feet into Onyxx's head, throwing him into the ground. Darwin blocked a punch from shard, countering with a kick to the head. But Ruby lifted her glasses up, firing an optic blast into Darwin's chest.

"All right, that's was one of the weirdest things that has happened to me so far" Darwin said, shaking his head.

"Shit, SOMEONE GET ONLINE TO THE MALKIN BUILDING!!!" Kid Vulcan yelled.

"HAVING SOME TROUBLES THERE KID!!" Cable yelled, flying towards Hope and punching her across the face. "EVERYONE WE NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THE MANSION NOW! GATHER TOGETHER!!!"

"BUT THAT'S SUICIDE!!" Loa yelled.

"FOLLOW MY ORDERS!!!" Cable roared, pushing Hope to the ground with his TK.

He landed behind Darwin, throwing Bishop, Shard, Simian and Torque aside with one sweep of his arm.

"Impossible, how could he be this powerful?" Push asked, her own Telekinesis proving to be ineffective against Cable.

"You never get into a fight without knowing something about your opponent, the Phoenix didn't just deage me, but it also cured me of the technorganic virus…now I'll show you just how powerful I REALLY AM!!!!" Cable yelled as telekinetic energy flashed around him.

Noah ran out of the subbasement, carrying Laurie with him.

"There she is, get her!" Surge said as she dashed towards Noah.

He ducked underneath her punch, running away as she fired electricity at him. Skidding to a halt, Noah widened his eyes as Rockslide raised his fist. But all of a sudden, tears' started running down the rock mans eyes.

"Oh man…NOT AGAIN!!" He yelled, falling to the floor and crying his eyes out.

"Wow, looks like you can still get him Laurie" Noah said while Laurie blushed.

Cable slammed Simian and Torque together, and threw Magneta into the woods. He blocked Bishops strike, and returned fire with a TK blast to his chest.

"I don't understand what's going on, Bishop and Shard shouldn't even be alive in twenty years" Cable said.

"Don't you see teacher, its him…his actions are destroying our world" Hope said, her Phoenix aura growing larger as she flew towards Cable.

"Him…VULCAN GET DOWN TO BASEMENT AND RETRIEVE SIEG'S SWORD!!!"

The X-man War Machine began firing his weapons at Darwin, whose skin had changed to a metallic substance. He ran at War Machine, the best way to survive would be to take out his weapons. So his arms turned into tentacles that wrapped around the mans shoulder guns. War Machine fired his uni-beam, but Darwin's skin changed to a diamond substance, reflecting the beam back into War Machine's chest. As the man flew back from the force, Darwin ripped the cannons off his shoulders and dropped them to the floor.

"He's all yours Onyxx!" He said with a smirk.

Onyxx slammed his fist into the back of War Machine, then grabbed his head and threw him into Ruby and Magik. Running to Darwin's side, the pair awaited the arrival of the other students. Trance and Loa were the first to arrive, with Anole shortly after. The apparent future X-23, Daken and Beast ran towards them, flashing their claws. But Noah ran in front of them, blinding them with a flash of light from his hand.

"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!" Hope yelled.

Vulcan landed in the circle that the group formed, carrying both Blindfold and Sieg's sword.

"I see the future, it's a world that isn't worth living in" Blindfold said.

"Tell us about it later" Gabriel said.

"No…I can see, my death"

Cable landed in front of the group, closing his eyes as he began to concentrate.

"Hey Nephew, what are you about to do?" Gabriel asked.

"Just hold still, this wont be a second!" Cable growled.

"NOOOO!!!" Hope screamed as the Young X-men disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The young X-men felt the wind against their skin as they travelled at incredible speeds. They crashed through the window of the Crowner building, setting off an alarm and destroying most of the desks and computers around them. Cable was unconscious on the floor, with Darwin already checking his condition.

"Damn, that really took a lot out of him" Darwin said.

"What happened, what did you see in the future Blindfold?" Anole asked.

"It was clouded, but I saw a world of fascism, and much later a world that wasn't worth living in…the spirit's presence is changing that future already" Blindfold said, "looking" at Sieg's sword.

"So what happens now?" Ink asked.

"You boys and girls are going to tell me exactly what happened before you got here, and your gonna officially join the resistance"

The young X-men looked to the doorway to see Security standing with his arms crossed. With a simple click of his fingers he turned off the alarms and awaited the X-men's explanation.

* * *

Pixie and Reckless had begun running through castle Doom. She didn't know what they were looking for, but Reckless was kicking down doors to find it. He came to a halt as he entered a hallway, paintings of Victor were hung up on the wall with tapestries and dinner tables stretched across the walls and floor respectively. And in the centre of the room were two men that Pixie thought looked scary. One was tall, with rippling muscles and an axe on his shoulder. A purple hood covered his face whilst the other man covered his eyes with a pair of sunglasses. He was equipped with two Katana style blades and had scars across his well toned that to Pixie seemed disturbingly well laid out.

"Okay, who are those guys?" Pixie asked.

But she got no response from Reckless, who instead pointed his finger at the far corner of the room. It seemed that he wanted Pixie to run ahead and find Domino. As she fluttered above the ground, Reckless walked towards the two men.

"She's scared" The shorter one pointed out, looking at Pixie.

"You can have your fun later Mister X, right now we have work to do" The hooded man said.

"So we're about to have fun then" Mister X said as he drew his swords.

Reckless grabbed the hilt of his Ninjato and flipped backwards as Headsman slammed his axe into the ground. Drawing his sword, Reckless blocked a strike from Mister X. The telepath mutant widened his eyes, for he didn't detect anything from the masked man's mind. Reckless kicked Mister X in the chest, pushing him to the floor. He then slid across the floor, dodging Headsman's axe. Jumping to his feet, he blocked another swing from Headsman's axe, countering with a punch to the mans head. Ducking underneath Mister X's sword swing, Reckless slammed his head into X's face. The psychopath's glasses shattered and he looked at Reckless with a furious look on his face. He thrust his sword forward, but much to his surprise, Reckless allowed the blade to pierce through his hand. Again he head butted Mister X, grabbing the handle of the sword, Reckless kneed X in the stomach, taking his left hand sword away. He span round, barely dodging Headsman's axe and stabbing the taller man in the shoulder. Pulling the sword out of his hand, Reckless wielded both swords, blocking strikes from the two Black ops agents.

Outside, Archangel slashed a group of Doom bots apart with his wings, whilst Deadpool drew his swords and ran at the Doom bots in front of him. He waved his swords around as the Doom bots fired, hitting his legs and shoulders.

"_**Damn…I knew I shouldn't have watched that movie"**_ Deadpool said, coughing in pain. _**"TO HELL WITH SWORDS THEN!!" **_He yelled, pulling an M16 off his back. _**"IN THE WORDS OF A FAMOUS ACTOR SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!"**_

The merc with the mouth fired the M16's grenade launcher, destroying the group of Doom bots with multiple explosions.

"_**Guns work a lot better than swords Ryan Reynolds, now write that down!" **_

"DEADPOOL WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!" Archangel yelled.

"_**Just making sure they get the movie right, that is if I ever get a movie"**_

Pixie flew as fast as she could through the hallways of the castle until she reached a set of spiral stairs.

'Hmmm, most evil dungeons are underground, maybe Domino will be under there' Pixie thought before flying down the stone steps.

* * *

Wolverine walked into Bucky's apartment, with Cloak and Dagger by his side. The New Avengers were waiting for him, with a change of clothes ready.

"So what's the plan, join up with this resistance they have?" Mockingbird asked.

"Jessica and I are definitely going, we got a call from Cap that says he's got Dani" Luke said.

"Things are more complicated than that…Osborn's got his own Avengers, the young Avengers are missing and the Runaways were attacked, some of them might not even survive" Logan explained, putting on his yellow costume.

"How do you know about that?" Ronin asked.

"It seems that these other Avengers don't have the most loyal team mates, I asked her to come with me but she refused, you guys might want to take a seat, especially you Barton, what I'm about to tell you is pretty rough news"

* * *

Skaar and the future Josh Foley were cowering in fear as Iron Warlord threw the woman across the room. She was dressed in Destiny's Brotherhood costume and Josh, his skin continually altering between his black and gold shines feared for the girl beneath the mask.

"How much, DID YOU TELL HIM!!!" Warlord yelled, picking Destiny up by her neck.

"Everything, the identities of Hawkeye and Captain America, Phoenix's brain washing, the stealing of all emotions on the planet…all so they could find a way to stop that future" Destiny explained, her voice remaining defiant as Warlord tightened his grip on her neck.

"You foolish woman, you can't stop destiny!"

"I can no longer see the future Warlord, that means that anything can happen from this point onwards, the future is theirs now, they can make it what they want"

"Wrong…my order will come about, it doesn't matter if I lose just a few of my men, for you don't know my identity Destiny, that's something I kept from all of you…where are Spider-man and Hawkeye going?" He asked.

"To find their true paths, to restore things to the way they are supposed to be" Destiny said, smiling beneath her mask.

"What are you talking about?"

"He knows, Joseph knows of the deal, I told him about it…he's going to sacrifice his very existence and I commend him for it, he's a better man than his father, he's not sacrificing love for life, he is sacrificing life, his life…your failing Warlord"

With those final words, Warlord shot a hole straight through Destiny's chest, vaporising her heart. Her mask fell to the floor, revealing her face, a face that lacked eyes. She had remembered how she felt in the past/present about the future she saw. Now she died happy, for she had helped two men find the right path.

* * *

Emma Frost smiled as she watched Osborn's news report. He had presented his version of the X-men and already her unsuspecting teammates were in outrage.

"I can't believe Calvin and that Pointer guy!" Bobby growled.

"How did I not see this coming?" Cannonball asked while Sunspot shrugged his shoulders.

"The question is what are we going to do about it?" Colossus asked, his sister Magik right beside him.

"You guys go out and assist Slade's worldwide Avengers, bring any wounded straight here so that Josh can treat them, I want us focusing on saving lives here people" Cyclops said, immediately breaking off into leadership mode.

Emma smiled as the X-men began to return to their posts. They were still unaware of her betrayal, and her Cuckoos were doing exactly as she told them to. Celeste wanted to find Sieg, and that was exactly what the three girls went out to do. They were sitting in the Initiative helicopter with not only the Shadow Initiative but Nuke, Venom, Yelena Belova, Ghost, Paladin and Penance. Their mission was to capture Sieg and that was a mission they would carry out.

* * *

Norman waved to the cameras proudly as the media began interviewing and taking pictures of his X-men. Mystique had taken on the guise of Professor Xavier while Michael or Weapon Omega as he went by now was wearing a red and white costume with the Omega symbol on his chest. Mimic had shaved his beard and cut his hair and was now wearing a blue and white costume with short sleeves and blue bands on his wrists. He finally had the chance he always wanted; the chance to be part of a legal government sanctioned mutant team. And Osborn again had the media in his hands, straying public opinion in his favour.

"With the success of my Thunderbolts rehabilitation program I am now appointing the reformed super villain the Hood as director of Camp Hammond" Norman said.

No one questioned it, people accepted the Hood. However for some of the old school Avengers and Gauntlet that was it. Joseph walked through the corridors of the prison complex in the Negative zone. Around him were former heroes like Turbo and Firestar, people that weren't even heroes anymore. Osborn was turning the country into a Fascist state, and Joseph had had enough of it. So he and Wonder Man, Stingray, Tigra and anyone else who was still loyal to the old Avengers ideal made their choice.

"What exactly do you think your doing Gauntlet?"

Gauntlet swung round to see Electro and Mysterio ready for battle. He flexed the fingers of his gauntlet; the other Avengers were waiting outside of the prison so if he got into a fight inside then he was on his own. The two villains looked eager to fight; unfortunately Gauntlet couldn't take the risk of getting the prisoners killed. But as soon as the two villains prepared to strike two arrows flew into their backs. The arrows injected them with enough tranquillisers to send them both falling to the floor. Gauntlet looked down the corridor to see someone dressed in a purple costume with a bow in his hand and guns on his waist.

"I'll tell you what he's doing, he's finally taking the right path!" The future Hawkeye said before throwing a device onto the floor.

The device blinked and flashed with a brilliant light. As soon as Gauntlet opened his eyes he gasped at his luck. This Hawkeye had opened all the cell doors and the defence systems. At the Baxter building, Warlord slammed his fist into the wall; Hawkeye had taken the buildings N-zone gate to the prison as well as an EMP device.

'Damn you Blindfold, damn you' Warlord thought. "Nico…have you found Joseph yet?" Warlord asked.

"He tracked down Strange and Voodoo sir, not only has he told them of our existence but he's had them transport him to Mephisto's realm" The Sorceress Supreme explained.

"What could he be trying to gain by going to Mephisto's realm?" Warlord asked.

"Destiny must have told him of the glitch we detected in reality, she must have told him of Mephisto's change"

"DAMN HER! HOW COULD JOSEPH BE SO STUPID!!!" Iron Warlord yelled, punchign the wall in rage.

* * *

The future Spider-man walked through the fires of Mephisto's realm. He removed his mask, revealing his platinum blonde hair and green eyes. Turning back to the portal he smiled at Dr Strange and the new Sorcerer Supreme Voodoo. He mouthed the words thank you before the portal closed. Walking across the fiery fields, Joseph Parker looked up at the red eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Why have you come to my domain?" The voice asked.

"I've come here to set things right!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Mephisto said as he appeared in front of Joseph.

"Shut up, I want you to restore the marriage of Mary-Jane Watson and Peter Parker, with their Aunt May alive and healthy…and that's not all I want" Joseph said.

"Do not assume you can make demands from me boy, still your boldness is entertaining, what are your other terms?" Mephisto asked.

"Bring back the child they lost so long ago, the child that that bastard Osborn never gave a chance"

* * *

Sieg carried Julian's body through the streets of New York. Every place was deserted so he made no attempt to hide the tears in his eyes. Looking at Julian's body, Sieg began to imagine the reactions of the X-men, especially X-23. She would be ready to give Frost exactly what she deserved. He frowned as he saw a helicopter flying above him. The door opened, revealing the Shadow Initiative, the Cuckoos and the Thunderbolts. Sieg put Julian on the ground and grinded his teeth together in anger. As Osborn's hit men flew down towards him, Sieg thought something that he hoped Celeste would detect.

'Attack me, break my heart, kill my friends…. alls that does is show me the path I have to take!'

With those thoughts he ran into battle.

* * *

Warlord's plan was failing, that much was known by the two Marvels as they watched the Young Avengers exit the cave. They were ready to fly out and strike them when suddenly, a meteorite crashed into the mountain, throwing the teenagers into the snow. Both Kree purebreds smiled as Karabai's forces began to attack Wundagore. General Kin looked at where the two Marvels had been; he could have sworn he saw two costumed heroes standing there. Turning his attention to the youths on the mountain, he hovered down to their level.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Kin asked.

"People who are gonna kick your ass!" Speed said as he ran at Kin.

But the general took flight upwards and threw a meteorite at Speed. Tommy ran backwards, dodging the meteorite but slipping on the ice.

"Be careful guys he could be dangerous" Kate said as she fired her bow.

But the arrow stopped just inches from Kin's chest. He smirked as the teenagers looked at him in shock.

"You guys seemed to have met the worse kind of opponent for you, do you really think the names of each general are a way to identify us…no, I AM KIN THE GENERAL OF KARABAI'S AIRFORCE AND MASTER OF METAL!!! Kin yelled.

Hulkling suddenly yelled in agony as his piercings were pulled off of his ears. Wiccan ran to his boyfriend's aid, but his crown flew off his head, smacking Tommy's face. Kate threw her equipment off as her sword and arrows began to fly into the air and float around Kin. Patriot threw his shield aside and frantically pulled off his stars. Suddenly the shield flew into Vision's chest, knocking him into the air. Stature caught the android, grinding her teeth together as flying soldiers and aliens began to surround them. Kin moved towards Wiccan and Speed, surrounding them with the arrows he manipulated.

"TIME FOR MY FIRST KILL!!!" Kin yelled in delight.

Suddenly, much to Kin's shock, the arrows around the two boys were disintegrated. He turned his head and grinned as he saw two Avengers ready for combat. Slade summoned his shield and scythe whilst Wanda looked to Kin with pure rage stretched across her face. Her hands glowed with hex energy as she floated off of the snow. Before rushing into battle, she yelled words she had wanted to yell for so long.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH MY CHILDREN!!!"

Next Chapter 12: The right path part 2

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 12: The right path

Mephisto looked down at the mortal standing before him. He looked so much like Peter Parker, the man he had recently made a deal with. The boy was even wearing a similar costume. Could he truly have been from the future? But he had an interesting demand, the question was what was this Spider-man willing to sacrifice?

"Hmmm, you make a hard bargain boy, but what are you willing to give me in return?" Mephisto asked.

"Its simple really, I give you myself…you can torture my soul for eternity and I also wont tell people the limits of your power, and your weakness!" Joseph said.

"HOW DARE YOU INSOLENT HUMAN! I AM A GOD! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!!!" Mephisto yelled.

But despite the fires raging around him, Joseph remained defiant.

"If you were invincible you could've taken the Earth anytime you wanted to, but your power is bound by rules…you cant manipulate anyone who isn't in a contract with you, you cant use your abilities unless they make a contract and above all else you can be defeated by someone who is truly pure of heart, which is why you make these deals that cause others to suffer, the Ghost Riders, Doctor Doom and his mother, even Peter Parker and Mary-Jane, you enjoyed tearing him apart with that decision but you know what, your going to put it all right, your going to give him his aunt and his daughter back and in return you get me and that'll be the end of it" Joseph said.

"Really…hmmm well I was always interested in my own personal slave, that and I had gotten so tired of love, perhaps your hope would be a better thing to torment, very well I will accept your offer" Mephisto said.

"Good…. there's something I'd like to do first though, transport me to wherever Peter Parker is"

Mephisto smiled, he probably wanted to say goodbye to his father. This would be entertaining to watch. So he complied with Joseph's wish, deciding to add a little extra in as well. Joseph reappeared in the Needed Avengers base with Peter and Mary Jane together. Upon seeing the two former lovers tears began to well up in his eyes. He had never met his father, had never been told the words that Ben Parker passed on to Peter. As soon as his powers manifested at Fifteen Iron Warlord recruited him to be part of his Avengers. For so long he had done terrible things, though he did find comfort, and it wasn't from his lover but from a friend. Steve Barton, the son of Clint Barton and Barbara Morse-Barton.

_"Don't you ever get tired of playing lackey?" Joseph asked Steve, who was shooting at targets at their bases shooting range._

_Both didn't have their costumes on, they were simply the sons of two heroes spending their free time wisely._

"_I never really thought about it…or about what our parents would say, I know that my father died during Osborn's Reign, and your father during the Siege" Steve said, reloading his pistol and shooting at his target._

"_Good shot…actually my memories seem to be changing, he died when I was born" Joseph said, rubbing his head in confusion._

"_Hasn't had that affect with me, Warlord theorises that while certain events might be changing the end result will be the same…so whether or not my parents do live to raise me I'll become a killer"_

"_Hey don't say that man, you're a hero"_

"_Heroes don't shoot people trying to surrender in the head or kill innocent children and their families, I'm a long way away from surpassing my father and he wasn't exactly a saint either"_

"_The same applies to me then…I don't think I can surpass dad"_

"_If there's anyone here who can surpass their legacy its you Joseph, you'll do something great just wait and see"_

_Joseph smiled as he clapped his hand against Steve's and let him resume his target practice. His friend always knew what to say. They would prepare for their mission into the past to make sure that Warlords new world order happened._

"So your Spider-man huh? Nice to meet you" Joseph said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"I'm kind of a fan, wow this scenario went so much better in my head" Joseph laughed.

"Peter what are you doing in a Spider-man costume, and why am I here, the last thing I remember is being at a safe house in Texas" Mary-Jane said, looking at her surroundings in confusion.

"Kind of my fault actually, nice to meet you too Miss Watson…I need to make a difficult decision, I was wondering Peter…what would you do if you knew something wasn't right with the world, that someone changed something?" Joseph asked.

"Well…I'd probably do whatever it took, if I had the power to do something then I would do it, cause with great power comes great responsibility" Peter said solemnly.

"Wow, that sounds pretty deep, thanks Peter…never let go of what you've got, never compromise" Joseph said as he walked towards Peter.

Peter widened his eyes as the man wrapped his arms around him. He noticed the tears in the mans eyes.

"Thank you so much…. I kept thinking I could never surpass my legacy, I'm happy to know that Steve was right, you look after May for me all right, if you can remember tell her about her little brother"

And with those words Joseph disappeared, before Peter could even comprehend what had been said the world stopped. With a mere wave of his hand, Mephisto changed everything. Time returned to the world and Peter appeared in the Avengers base. Rubbing his eyes for a minute, Peter looked around, something felt odd and yet at the same time it felt right. The door slid open and Aunt May walked into the room.

"Peter, Mr Crowner wanted to talk to you in his office" May said.

"Thanks Aunt May" Peter said, reaching for his mask.

"Daddy!"

Peter turned to the door and smiled as a six-year-old brown haired girl ran into the room. He picked the girl up, laughing as he hugged her.

"Are you going out to fight again Daddy?" The girl asked.

"Don't worry May, I'll be fine, you just stay here with Aunty and Mommy okay" Peter said, brushing the girls cheek with his finger.

"James only wants you to find Nightcrawler and Marvel Girl, hopefully you won't be fighting"

Peter looked at the beautiful red head standing at the doorway. She was his wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker. They walked towards one another, pressing their lips together. The two May's both stared at the scene in shock, their kiss seemed a bit too passionate for a welcoming.

"You know I really love you" Peter said.

"I love you too Peter…now what are you waiting for, go get em Tiger!" Mary Jane said with a smile as her husband put on his mask and ran out of the room.

Mephisto stood in his realm; he had changed everything for Spider-man. But what had he gained? Then he remembered the blonde haired man that was willing to sacrifice his very life for the marriage of Mary Jane and Peter Parker. But where was his soul? And then it occurred to him, Joseph wasn't the son of Mary Jane Watson. Mephisto had just been conned, Joseph was never willing to sacrifice his soul but his very existence. Mephisto yelled in total fury, before he forgot he remembered the face and name of Joseph Parker, the man who had beaten him at his own game.

* * *

Across the world, heroes' memories of Spider-man began to change. The New Avengers including Tony and the Sentry knew that Spider-man was Peter Parker. Harry Osborn, originally hiding out in a Washington safe house was instead in the Needed Avengers base, choosing to oppose his father with his best friend. The Black Cat now knew that Peter was Spider-man, but kept his identity a secret from her Initiative teammates and even her lover Puma. In an instant minor events had changed, in Avengers tower Gothica smiled.

"It's about time things got back to normal" He said as he laughed hysterically.

Vargas and Ant-man both raised their eyebrows at the mans actions.

* * *

In the negative zone, Steve Barton the Hawkeye of the future widened his eyes as he felt tears run down his face. Why was he crying? Then he realised, he had lost something precious to him. In LA, Victorious's team shook their heads at the new memories running through their minds. T'Lila had killed the daughter of Spider-man when she opposed Warlords actions. They shook the sudden change out of their heads and resumed their attack on the hospital. Chase Stein dived at Klara, pushing her out of the way of Victorious's electric attack. Ant-woman grew to her gigantic size, towering over Xavin, Nico and the Hammer agents.

"Now would be a good time to remove these suppressors!" Nico said.

"YOU HEARD THE LADY GET THE COLLARS OFF THEM!!!" Jake yelled.

The Hammer agents began firing at the giant-woman, the bullets merely bounced off her suit as she slapped some of them aside with her hand. Nico tapped her foot against the floor impatiently as the commander unlocked hers and Xavin's collars.

"When blood is shed, let the staff of one emerge!" Nico said as her staff slid out of her chest.

Xavin flamed on and flew at Ant-woman, who punched him into the hospital roof. Jake ran into the hospital, ordering the staff to clear the patients out. He then widened his eyes as he saw Hammer Agents carrying Molly out of the Hospital's fire exit.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!!!!" Jake yelled after the soldiers.

The four men drew their rifles, warning Jake to back off. Suddenly, Old Lace burst through the wall, biting one of the soldier's arms.

"AAAAAAGH KILL IT KILL IT!!!!" He yelled.

But Old Lace swung her tail round, smacking one soldier across the face. She then slammed her head into another, and then jumped on top of the last soldier, biting his neck. Old Lace turned her head towards Jake, growling at him.

"Wait…I'm a friend, I can help" Jake said.

Old Lace sniffed the man in front of her, before bowing her head. Jake picked Molly up, checking her over. Despite her unconsciousness she was in perfect condition. Although it would probably be a while before her hair grew back. Walking out through the exit, Jake looked to the battle going on between the future Avengers the hammer agents. Xavin was grappling with Victorious, whilst Nico and Chase jumped away from Ant-woman's massive fist. Old Lace ran towards the battle, biting Ant-woman's ankle. She yelled in agony as she fell to the floor.

"Great job Lace, keep her busy for us!" Chase said, grabbing the commander's key and unlocking Klara's collar.

"STEIN! RETRIEVE KAROLINA!!!" Xavin yelled, punching Victorious aside.

"Yes Chase, don't forget the little me too" Victorious said, using his magnetic abilities to smash Xavier with a dumpster.

Nico ran over to Jake, looking over Molly.

"Physically she's fine but right now her brain is in a coma" Jake explained.

"So basically she's asleep?" Nico asked.

Jake nodded his head and looked at Nico with confusion as she placed her hand over Molly's head.

"_**Wake up sleepyhead!"**_

And with those words, Molly's eyes popped open. They suddenly began to glow a pink colour as she smiled. Ant-woman growled as she tried to hit Old Lace. But the dinosaur proved to be very nimble, jumping away from Ant-woman's fists every time they crashed into the ground. As Chase walked out of the hospital, carrying Karolina's unconscious form Victorious smiled. He flew at Chase, but was tackled by Xavin, throwing both of them into a nearby yellow cab.

"God damn it, CAP KILL KAROLINA!!!" Victorious yelled.

The future Captain America walked towards Chase, but his attention was drawn to Ant-woman as Molly punched her in the nose. A smile crept across his face as Ant-woman fell to the ground, with Molly cracking her fists in celebration. But then he shook his head and ran at Chase.

"_**Start the party!"**_

Cap skidded to a halt and raised his shield, blocking a series of fireworks launched by Nico's staff.

"Why are you doing this, why are you trying to kill Karolina and Molly?" Nico asked.

"Yeah you big meanie!" Molly said.

"I'm sorry, but certain things have to happen in order to turn Chase into the hero he's destined to become" Cap explained.

"Oh really, do you guys call yourselves heroes, because trust me I've seen the real Captain America in action and I'll tell you something he never would have condoned what your doing…you guys are as far from being heroes as you can get" Jake growled.

Captain America looked at the man, his eyes wide in shock. He was right, right now he wasn't acting the way Captain America was supposed to. Suddenly, Xavier was thrown into the middle of the group, his skin burning but still alive from Victorious's vicious attacks. Victorious walked towards the Runaway's his hands sparking with electricity.

"Chase, what the hell do you think your doing? KILL THEM!!!" Victorious yelled.

Chase and Nico looked at Captain America in shock. Victorious hadn't been talking to Chase, but rather this man dressed in a Captain America costume. Old Lace jumped at Victorious, biting his arm viciously. The man's blood dripped across the floor as he tried to push the dinosaur off of him.

"Oh well I suppose you'll have to die early!" Victorious said, shoving his mouth down Lace's throat.

He activated his powers, shocking the inside of Lace's mouth, burning all of her internal organs. Chase watched as Gertrude's gift to him was dropped carelessly across the floor. Klara and Molly put their hands to their mouths, looking at Lace's lifeless form. But for Victorious it wasn't enough, he set Lace's body ablaze, laughing as Molly Klara yelled in sorrow.

"Lace…oh god, Gert I'm so sorry!" Chase whimpered.

"Sorry Molly, but its gotta happen" Victorious said, aiming the palm of his hand at Molly.

"NOOOO!!!!" Chase yelled as Victorious fired a blast at Molly.

Molly crossed her arms together, but blinked in confusion, as she never felt the pain. Looking in front of her, she and everyone else there widened their eyes as the Captain America blocked the blast with his shield. But the electricity covered his body, causing him to yell in pain. Victorious stopped his assault and looked at Cap, grunting before he teleported himself and Ant-woman away. Smoke rose from Cap's form as he reached for his cowl. Pulling off the mask, the Runaway and especially Chase looked at the man in shock. Standing before them, wounded and clearly on his last legs was an older thirty nine year old Chase. Running to his side, Chase supported his older self's back as he fell.

The older chase coughed weakly while the Runaways gathered around him. Molly and Klara were holding back tears while Jake was already calling for a stretcher.

"Don't bother doc, I cant be saved…thanks by the way, no…thank you all of you, just seeing you guys again took me back to it all, the happiest days of my life, if not for you guys I wouldn't have remembered how I felt when Lace died…it was like I had lost the only part of Gert I had left" The Old Chase explained.

Chase nodded his head, for that was exactly how he felt.

"But now as a man, I feel…happy that this is the way things end, I know that I can see her again, you all need to do your part, the young generation has to pull its weight too you know"

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked.

"You guys gotta figure that out on your own…it was good seeing you again Molly, Klara, you guys and Nico and Karolina were my sisters…never lose your bond, say hi to Victor for me, goodbye!"

"NO CHASE DON'T DIE!!" Molly yelled as the mans eyes lost their colour.

Jake looked away from the scene as the girls cried their eyes out. Looking at the unconscious Hammer agents around him, Jake knew what he had to do. Somehow he'd get the kids to New York and join the resistance.

* * *

Explosions ignited through prison 42, Hammer agents scattered as super human prisoners ran out of their cells. Gauntlet threw a Hammer Agent against the wall, while Hawkeye fired his pistols, providing the escaping prisoners with covering fire. Wonder Man crashed his fist into the floor, throwing several guards backwards. Iron patriot and Bullseye entered the prison through the N-zone gate, leading the Dark X-men behind them.

"FIND THE PRISONERS AND KILL THEM!!!" Osborn yelled.

Hawkeye and the prisoners ran outside, with the defecting Avengers behind them.

"Thanks for joining us Trauma!" Gauntlet said.

"No problem, that bastard Osborn actually said he could cure my mom, you cant just cure insanity with a click of the fingers, that and he's tearing the Initiative apart" Trauma explained.

"He's tearing the whole country apart, you people need to go to the resistance base, once you get there tell them to move their base immediately, my leader knows the location and layout and I've got a feeling that he's got something planned" Hawkeye said.

Stingray nodded his head, carrying the unconscious Daredevil over his shoulder. Tigra hissed as Hammer Agents began to approach, but Hawkeye fired his pistols, shooting each agent in the head.

"GO! WARN THEM!!!" Hawkeye yelled, throwing another device to the ground.

A portal suddenly appeared in front of the escaping prisoners. They began running through, with Hawkeye keeping the approaching Hammer agents pinned down with his guns.

"Come with us!" Gauntlet said.

"No there's still something I need to do" Hawkeye said.

"And what's that?" Gauntlet asked.

"Surpass my father" Steve whispered before pushing Joseph into the portal.

He crushed the portal generator with his foot then turned to the Hammer Agents. Steve fired multiple shots, hitting their knees and hands. They fired back, but astonishing the agents, Steve dodged the shots with simple steps and turns of his body. He threw two magazines into the air, firing his last two bullets into the legs of two agents. Then he ejected the magazines, spinning his guns with his fingers. The cartridges dropped to the ground and slid into the handles of Hawkeye's guns. Switching his guns to automatic fire mode he sprayed the bullets across the wall, hitting every single agent in the shoulder. They'd be in pain for a while, but with the right medical attention they'd live. A real Hawkeye wouldn't kill if he could help it.

So that's why Steve dropped the guns and pulled out a crossbow from his belt. Puling the bolt back he fired it into the wall, releasing a knockout gas that put the guards to sleep. He then threw the crossbow aside and drew his bow. Pulling an arrow from his quiver, Steve stood ready to take on any "hero" that Osborn sent. Suddenly Bullseye ran out of the corner, firing an arrow straight into Steve's chest. He widened his eyes before falling to the floor.

"Good shot Hawkeye, the rest of you get to work on finding out where they teleported to" Osborn said as he entered the room.

Osborn was wrong it wasn't a good shot. The arrow had missed Steve's heart by inches.

'This guy calls that murderer Hawkeye, I'll show him' Steve thought as he grabbed his bow and arrow.

"OI BULLSEYE!!!" Steve yelled.

Bullseye and Osborn turned around and laughed at the sight of Steve aiming his bow. A smiled crossed Steve's face; these people had no clue just how good he was. He'd never get an effective shot on Osborn, but he could still get Bullseye. Pulling the string back, Steve blocked out the fatigue and the blood loss and focused on his target.

'Sorry mom, dad, I've gotta shed blood, one last time!' Steve thought.

Releasing his grip, the string of the bow snapped and sent the arrow flying faster than even Osborn's computers could read. Before the Iron patriot realised what had happened he saw Bullseye lying on the floor with an arrow through his eye.

"Bullseye…bitch!" Steve laughed before he fell to the floor. 'Thank you Blindfold, for giving me the chance…to change my Destiny' Steve thought before closing his eyes and allowing death to take hold of him.

He died happy, for in his eyes the son had finally surpassed the father.

* * *

On Wundagore Mountain, Slade slammed his shield into the invaders. Tommy and Billy watched as their mother flew at the general, blasting him with Hex bolts. Using his powers, Kin fired a magnetic blast at Wanda, but the witch covered herself in a barrier of chaos magic. Blasting him in the chest, Wanda threw Kin into the side of the mountain. She powered up a Hex bolt in her hand, waiting for Kin to crawl out of the snow. Patriot tackled an invader to the ground, punching him across the face whilst Stature grabbed four flying aliens and threw them off the mountain. Vision shot two flyers with his eye beams and Hulkling grew his own wings, slashing to flyers with his claws.

"Don't be afraid Wanda, hit him with everything you've got!" Slade said before cutting the guns of two invaders apart.

The Scarlet Witch threw her hands forward, firing the gigantic Hex bolt. It flew into the mountain, cutting a hole straight through the ice and consuming Kin.

"Wow…that's our mom!" Tommy pointed out.

"I take after her you know, so don't piss me off okay" Billy chuckled.

Wanda smiled as she flew down towards the two boys. She had pictured this moment so many times in her head. Now it was about to become a reality. Suddenly metallic ooze burst out of the mountain. Slade and the other Young Avengers ran to Wanda's side, preparing themselves for battle. The Ooze took shape into a metal version of General Kin, but this time he had no mask covering his face, revealing a young cocky expression.

"You foolish human, I am the master of all metal, not only can I control it but I can also create it" Kin said, laughing as drops of metal came off of his skin.

The Young Avengers watched in horror as thousands of drops of metal floated around Kin. With mere flicks of his wrists the drop took shape into thousands of blades.

"Okay…we are officially screwed" Hulkling said.

"I'd start running Tommy" Eli said.

"I would if I wasn't pissing my pants right now" The Speedster said.

But Slade and Wanda remained defiant even as the blades flew towards them. They prepared themselves while the teenagers covered their eyes. But much to their surprise, the blades stopped, one just inches from Slade's eye.

"Is this you Wanda?" Slade asked.

"No…but it couldn't be" Wanda said in shock.

Kin turned around and frowned as he saw a man in a red and purple uniform standing with his arms crossed in midair. His cloak waved around in the wind the light from the setting sun reflected off his helmet.

"Master of all metal, sorry boy but that title is nothing to the master of magnetism…now turn back now or I will make you regret trying to harm my daughter and grandsons!"

Kin grinded his teeth together and yelled as he flew at the repowered and ready to fight Magneto, Earth's master of Magnetism!

Next Chapter 13: Reunions

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next will be Sieg against Celeste and the black ops agents, Magneto against Kin and X-Force and Reckless against Doom


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 13: Reunions

Even though he was outnumbered, Sven chose to fight on against Osborn's black ops agents. He clothes lined Nuke, and then slammed his head into Ghost's. Crossing his arms together, Sieg blocked a punch from Puma, and then flipped to avoid Paladin's gunshots. Sliding across the floor, Sieg ducked underneath Batwing's punch and grabbed Komodo's wrist. He kicked her legs then flipped her, knocking her to the ground. Venom flipped over Batwing, kicking Sieg across the head. Quickly recovering, Sieg backhanded Batwing then threw a punch at Venom. But Constrictor wrapped his coils around Sieg's wrists, throwing him into the air. Ghost fired and energy blast into Sieg's back, pushing him further into the air. Flipping in midair, Sieg readied himself as Batwing flew towards him. He grabbed the boy's wing, pressing his foot against Batwing's chest. The two fell from to the ground with Sieg on top of Batwing, using him to absorb the impact. Yelena, Nuke and Paladin fired their guns at Sieg, who dived for cover behind an abandoned truck. Typhoid Mary drew her sword and ran alongside Puma and Komodo.

"This guys proving to be more trouble than he's worth" Mary growled.

"We've got orders we might as well follow them" Komodo said.

"ORDERS!!!!" Sieg yelled.

He gathered all his strength and picked up the truck he hid behind. Yelling as he threw it, the truck slammed into the ground and slid towards the gun touting Thunderbolts. They dived out of the way of the projectile whilst Sieg grabbed Komodo by her neck.

"YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK! IF OSBORN ORDERED YOU TO COMMIT GENOCIDE WOULD YOU DO IT! OH WAIT I FORGOT YOU WERE PART OF THE KILL KREW!!!!" Sieg yelled.

"They deserved it!" Komodo said.

"YOU BITCH!!!!" Sieg roared.

He threw his fist forward, driving it straight through Komodo's chest. Then he kicked her neck, sending her flying into the back of the truck. Puma tried to punch Sieg, but was kicked aside by the youth. Typhoid swung her sword at Sieg, cutting him across the cheek. Grabbing her wrist, Sieg twisted the woman's arm and knocked her sword out of her hand. He elbowed her in the nose then turned to the Cuckoos. Phoebe and Mindee put their hands to their heads and entered Sieg's mind.

"Sis you might want to help us, I doubt we can knock your ex out on our own" Phoebe said.

Hesitantly Celeste put her hands to her head and assaulted Sieg's mind. He clutched his head, grinding his teeth together as he felt the girls roaming around. Venom grew to his bulky size and cupped his hands together. But Sieg rolled to the side, barely dodging Venom's crushing punch. Waving his arms around, Sieg ran at the girls. The three sisters rolled to the side and continued their assault.

'Why Celeste, why support Osborn, look what he did to Julian, and Frost just stood by and let him do it' Sieg thought.

**"No, Miss Frost cares for her students…she wouldn't do that"**

'BULLSHIT! Your reading my mind, you can see what she's done'

**"It's…necessary, all the sacrifices we make are necessary in order to create a better world, the plans for alien genocide, controlling all super human resources…you must understand, sometimes you have to do evil things in order to change the world for the better"**

'SHUT UP! YOU DON'T ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT DO YOU! I'm not talking about all the shit that Osborn's doing, he will be stopped, I'm talking about us…was there even an us?'

* * *

At Wundagore Mountain, the young Avengers, Slade and the Scarlet Witch looked up as two masters of metal faced one another. The spikes that had surrounded them now floated around the two masters.

"Human your age must be making you senile, I'm one of Karabai's generals, to go against me is to assure death especially when my armour has shattered" Kin said.

"So am I too assume that this armour is a seal of sorts to prevent you from using your full power" Magneto said.

"You'd assume correctly old man, every general displays a quarter of his abilities when they have their armour on…and I haven't even begun to show off my true power" Kin smirked as her gathered the spikes into a line.

Magneto showed no fear as the spikes flew towards him. With a mere flick of his wrist the spikes broke apart and fell into the snow. Kin merely smirked as he created more and more spikes from his own flesh, throwing them at Magneto. But every spike was broken apart as soon as they even touched Magneto. Kin pointed his fingers at Magneto and began firing thousands of tiny marbles at Magneto. The master of Magnetism flew from side to side, dodging every single bullet fired by Kin.

"LETS SEE YOU SURVIVE THIS!!!" Kin yelled.

He formed his hands together, and then spread them out, creating a cannonball. Throwing the ball, Kin widened his eyes as the cannonball ball stopped at Magneto's chest. Magneto yawned before tapping the cannonball and sending it flying into Kin's face. Though the general absorbed the metal he clutched his face in pain. An idea then crept into Magneto's mind. The thousands of marbles that Kin had fired earlier were currently under Magneto's control. So he threw his arm forward, sending the bullets flying back into Kin's body. He breathed heavily, rubbing every inch of his body.

"I see now, essentially you are losing a part of yourself when you use your abilities, you've learned to deal with the pain of losing these parts, but not absorbing them back" Magneto theorised.

"Bastard human…you think you're so smart, I'll show you…you want a science lesson bub, there's iron in the blood, I can manipulate that iron!" Kin said, stretching his hand out and forming it into a fist.

But once again Kin faced shock, for Magneto was unaffected. The older man began to laugh, rubbing his head at Kin's actions.

"Foolish boy, now look up!" He said.

Kin looked up and screamed as an alien mother ship flew towards him. Speed prepared to run away from the mountain, but widened his eyes as Kin absorbed the ship, screaming in agony as it entered his body. He clutched his chest, yelling and screaming before he fell to the snow.

"OH GOD! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHY COULDN'T I KILL YOU!!!!" Kin yelled.

"Your foolish faith in your power is misguided, if controlling the Iron in people's blood was so simple I would have killed all my enemies long ago, there has to be a certain amount of iron in order for you to manipulate it, that at it requires focused and dedicated concentration to the point where you must block out every sound and sight…that and I already have control of the iron molecules in my blood, you couldn't manipulate me even if I did have enough Iron" Magneto explained.

"I'll kill you human!"

"I sincerely doubt that!" Magneto said.

And with a simple flick of his wrist, Magneto tore Kin's body apart. His blood spread across the snow as Magneto floated towards his daughter.

"Wanda…you look well" He said, removing his helmet.

"Eric" Wanda said, nodding her head at the man.

"Have we fallen apart so much that you have stopped calling me father?" Magneto asked.

Tommy and Billy watched the scene awkwardly. Technically this man who had saved them was their grandfather. But it seemed they wouldn't be having any happy family reunions yet.

* * *

In Latveria, Pixie ran through the corridors of the dungeon. Her wings were tired from all the flying she had been doing. Blood dripped across the floor of Doom's dining hall. Reckless had a cut across his chest, and blood ran down arm from a stab wound on his shoulder. Headsman stood over Reckless; whilst Mr X nursed a broken nose the masked man had given him.

"God damn it, this man is a maniac" Mr X said.

"Your bravery was admirable, but you should have been more careful in the fight, even blood loss from a shoulder wound can kill you" Headsman explained as he swung his axe downwards.

But Reckless grabbed the handle of the axe, slowing it down just enough so that the blade would only cut his shoulder. He slammed his fist into Headman's face, knocking him backwards then slashing the mans knee. As Headsman fell to the ground, Reckless ran at Mr X and kneed him in the face. Outside Deadpool and Archangel continued to fight the Doom bots. Archangel beheaded two robots with his wings, and then threw a volley of knives into another. Pixie summoned her soul dagger as she approached two Doom bots. She jumped at one of them, driving her blade through its head. The other one punched her in the stomach, but Pixie managed to stab her dagger through its chest before falling to the floor.

"Okay Megan, so far so good, now its time to rescue Domino" She said to herself, getting off the floor and walking towards a cell.

Domino was chained against the wall, looking at Pixie as she picked the lock with her dagger. Kicking down the door, Pixie ran to Domino and began picking the lock of her chains.

"LOOK OUT!!" Domino yelled.

Pixie turned around just in time to be electrocuted. She fell to the floor, hugging her arms in pain.

"Your feeble attempts at rescue are no match for the power of Doom" Doctor Doom said as he marched into the cell. "Now face the consequences of your defiance"

* * *

Gloria faced great shock when she came out of the bathroom. The crowner guards and mercenaries drew their rifles on the prisoners that had been held at the N-Zone prison.

"Okay, someone tell me what happened" Gloria said, rubbing her forehead.

"Hi, Joseph Green AKA Gauntlet, we'd like to officially join the resistance" Gauntlet said.

"Wow…your all welcome to join, I'll get some costumes ready for those of you that don't have them" Gloria said with a smile.

"No way…not all of us are super heroes anymore, Turbo's officially retired" Mickey Musashi said.

"You mean your officially retarded, have you been paying attention to what Osborn's been doing Mickey" Mattie Franklin said.

"I don't want to get involved in super heroics anymore, alls it does is ruin peoples lives"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!!!"

The members of the resistance turned and widened their eyes as they saw Tony Stark in his Mk3 armour.

"Say what you want to about me but I have always sought to do the right thing…you think heroism ruins life but your wrong, its choosing not to act that ruins life…for so long I went along with the government and now they've put a madman in charge of our defence, I wont stand for it anymore…you walk away if you want to Musashi, you walk away because your too lazy and scared to do something about the current situation, I'M SCARED FOR MY LIFE AND I'M NOT HESITATING! I'M GONNA GO OUT THERE AND I'M GOING TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO DEFEND THIS PLANET!! We go through the bad times in order to get to the good times…so stay here if you want, or you can be real Avengers and come with me" Tony explained, putting on his helmet and walking through the crowd.

Surprisingly Prodigy was the first to follow him, and then came his Slinger's teammate Ricochet, then Mattie Franklin and Stingray and Wonder Man.

"Take Daredevil to the infirmary, I suppose you've got some information that James would like to have?" Gloria asked Gauntlet.

"Yeah, please take me to him"

James sat in the command centre, watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's work.

"Commander Hill, we've picked up alien readings in the Pacific ocean" One of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents said.

"The Navy and air force are converging on that location, so are Iron patriot and a few members of his Initiative" Harry explained, working at a computer beside the Black Widow.

"Thank you Mr Osborn, we'll contact a flyer and have him investigate" Hill said.

Gloria walked up behind James with Gauntlet by her side. James rubbed his forehead with his eyes closed.

"James, what's wrong?" Gloria asked.

"It's Sieg, I can feel his rage" James said.

In James's tower, Cable's eye glowed a yellow colour as he too sensed Sieg's condition. Across the continent, Jean, Rachel, Emma and Xavier felt the rage building up inside Sieg. He continued his battle with the Shadow Initiative, taking a punch from Mindee, who had changed her skin to a diamond form. Penance groaned as he fired a blast into Sieg's chest.

"**Your spirit isn't here to save you this time Sieg" **Phoebe said, talking to Sieg in the white void.

Mindee and Celeste appeared, the three sisters combined their telepathy to create multiple enemies including Omega Red, Electro, Screaming Mimi, Hydro man and Mr Sinister. Sieg dodged their attacks, leaving himself open to a physical blow from Penance.

"**Maybe we're going overboard" **Mindee said, looking to Celeste.

The girl had her hands together in both the physical and mental world.

"Why…. why did you make me fall for you?" Sieg asked, limping across the floor.

"**I…I'm sorry Sieg, it was after that whole Phoenix mess that Miss Frost came to us with a plan" **Celeste began.

"_A Utopia…isn't that the equivalent to a prison?" Mindee asked._

_Emma stood in the sister's bedrooms in the Graymalkin building. All the other X-men were out on missions so they were the only ones in the tower._

"_Only to those who will see it as such, Osborn guarantees us a new home, a country for mutants willing to obey societies laws while the violent ones are depowered by the Omega Machine Osborn is building" Emma explained._

"_So we'd have to leave the mansion?" Celeste asked._

"_Of course non mutant super humans wouldn't be able to come"_

"_Surely Osborn could make an exception for Sieg" Phoebe said with a smirk._

"_You two are just a fling, don't bother telling him" Emma growled._

"_I don't want to worry him, and I also want there to be more between us then just kisses and words" Celeste said._

"_Hmmm, this sounds familiar…well my dear your going to have to do whatever it takes to keep him, follow my simple instructions and he'll be in the palm of your hand" Emma explained, putting her arm around Celeste's neck and whispered into her ear._

_After a week of dating, Celeste and Sieg met at the dojo Sieg often trained at._

"_I didn't realise you knew Yoga" Celeste said as she placed her mat on the ground._

"_Well, its more meditation for me, the spirit told me it's a good way to focus and train my mental defences" Sieg explained._

"_Sounds good…what's wrong Sieg, don't you like my outfit?" She asked._

"_Well, I just find it a little strange for you to be wearing Emma's first X-men uniform, I like it but it doesn't offer much protection" Sieg said._

"_Oh you let me worry about protection" Celeste said, winking at Sieg as he blushed._

_The two of them crossed their legs and closed their eyes._

'_Are you in my head Celeste?' Sieg asked._

"I like it in here"'Whatever your doing in there it feels good, I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed'

_Sieg opened his eyes and found himself in a completely yellow void. He looked to Celeste, who was smiling at him as she wrapped her arms around him._

"_Celeste"_

"_Shhh, don't talk…just think, that's all that matters" Celeste said, pressing her lips against Sieg's._

_He closed his eyes and ran his hands through her hair. Their thoughts echoed in one another's minds._

"_I really like you Sieg"_

"_I like you too Celeste"_

"_I want to form a psychic rapport with you Sieg, one part of me with you and one part of you with me…we'll be connected both psychically and spiritually" Celeste explained._

"_Spiritually, like the one I have with my hero?"_

"_No, it'll be much deeper than that"_

"_I don't know, I don't really want to do anything that might damage my link with the spirit, it already seems to be weakening" Sieg thought, separating his lips from Celeste's._

_Hesitantly Celeste did as Emma told her and psychically pushed Sieg into kissing her. She saw every moment of Sieg's short life, his childhood, the day he met his hero, then the day he received his powers. Then she saw the dark depths of Sieg's mind, the things he hid, his doubts…even the dark part of his powers. Suddenly Sieg threw Celeste off of him._

"_HOW DARE YOU! You basically violated my memories" Sieg said, breaking the psychic link._

"_I'm sorry Sieg I forgot to mention that that would be a side effect" Celeste said._

"_Don't push the issue Celeste, forget it…I would have told you about my past eventually, but you didn't have the right to roam around in there…that isn't how relationships work"_

"_AND WHAT WOULD YOUR SPIRIT KNOW ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS! HE WANTS YOU TO SACRIFICE OUR POTENTIAL!!!" Celeste yelled._

"_NO HE DOESN'T! HE KNOWS HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOU! HE KNOWS THAT HUMANS FALL IN LOVE AND HE DOESN'T STOP THAT!!" Sieg yelled, his eyes glowing a furious red colour. "Look just forget it Celeste, we'll discuss it later, right now there's someone out there in the world who needs to be saved and I'm going to find them"_

"_Maybe you're the one who needs saving"_

_Afraid of losing the man she loved, Celeste erased his memory of this moment and life went on. Their relationship developed, and Celeste wiped away any memories that could potentially damage their relationship including Megan's confession of her feelings for Sieg._

Sieg stood with his eyes wide open; she had done all that for love. In the psychic world, Omega red wrapped his coils around Sieg's neck and limbs, lifting him into the air. Electro, Screaming Mimi and Sinister then blasted him with their powers. Sieg screamed from both the mental pain and the physical pain he experienced as Constrictor shocked him with his coils.

"CELESTE! I…I…"

"I'm so sorry" Celeste whispered.

"CELESTE…I…I LOVED YOU!!!" Sieg yelled.

Suddenly, Sieg's body released a flash of blue light that threw the Thunderbolts and Shadow Initiative back.

* * *

In Latveria, Reckless walked into the dungeon just as Doom prepared a blast to finish Pixie off. Reckless drew his sword and drove it through Doom's chest. Pixie looked at the boy in confusion as the chest gave off sparks.

"Doctor Doom is a robot?" Pixie asked.

"No, that's a Doombot" Domino sighed as Reckless cut her chains.

Reckless threw the Doombot over his shoulder and ran down the corridor. Pixie and Domino ran after him, following the masked man up the spiral staircase. They came to a halt as they saw several Doombots blocking their path, behind them was the man himself Doctor Doom.

"Kill them!" Doom said coldly.

But just as the robots opened fire, Archangel crashed through the window. He landed in front of his teammates, blocking the laser blasts with his wings. Deadpool then jumped through the window, flipping in midair as he fired his machine guns.

"DEADPOOL WATCH IT YOU ALMOST HIT US!!!" Archangel yelled.

"_**Chill out…every organic life form is alive" **_Deadpool said cheerfully.

"For how long I wonder" Doom said, firing a beam into Deadpool's back.

Domino caught Deadpool as he was sent flying towards the wall. Archangel fired a volley of knives at Doom, but each one bounced off of his armour. He began chanting a spell, and then fired it at Archangel. The X-man blocked the shot with his wing, but grinded his teeth together as the blast had cracked the metal. Doom put his hands together and began chanting an even more powerful spell.

'To hell with this, I don't care if we come back with nothing, we need to get out of here' Pixie thought as she concentrated hard.

She didn't know the exact location, but she knew that the Avengers resistance base was the safest place on the planet. Chanting the spell that Magik had taught her, Pixie teleported herself and X-force away from Latveria and into the command centre of the Needed Avengers.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" Gauntlet yelled as Reckless and the remains of the doom bot landed just inches from him.

"What the heck happened?" Gloria asked.

"This idiotic girl teleported us out before we could find evidence" Domino said.

"But you guys were going to get killed by that Doctor Doom man" Megan said.

"AND WE NEEDED EVIDENCE TO PROVE HE WAS CONNECTED WITH OSBORN!!!" Archangel yelled.

"You've already got your evidence, this isn't traditional Latverian robotics, I know the internal design and weapons systems anywhere, this Doom bot was made at Oscorp" Harry explained, looking over the doom bots remains.

"Anyway you can prove that?" Domino asked.

"I know Oscorp technology when I see it, I am Norman Osborns son after all"

"All the more reason for us not to trust you" Archangel said.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS ALL OF YOU!!!!" James yelled, drawing everyone's attention. "Any super heroes on base get to times square, something's happening to Sieg" James ordered, narrowing his eyes as he sensed Sieg's condition.

* * *

Sieg breathed heavily, preparing himself for the attacks from the Thunderbolts. But the attack never came from them it instead came from above. Komodo widened her eyes as Hardball slammed his fist into Sieg's head. With him were several squads of Hydra agents. One of the agents threw rifle to Nuke, who aimed it at the disorientated Sieg. He fired a dart into Sieg's neck and the Cuckoos stared at the dart.

"Spin-tech dart…it can strip anyone of their power" Nuke said, chuckling as Sieg fell to his knees, yelling as he felt the chemicals run through his body.

"I loved you too Sieg and I'm so sorry" Celeste whispered.

Unfortunately Nuke heard her. He immediately swung his hand round, slapping her across the face.

"You stupid little girl, did you really think he's gonna give a damn about you after all you've done?" Nuke asked.

"Hey leave our sister alone" Phoebe said.

But Nuke slapped both girls across the head and kicked Celeste in the stomach.

"Hey…leave them alone!" Sieg growled as he struggled to stand up.

Nuke simply laughed before running at Sieg and slamming his fist into his gut. He kicked the boy across the floor and began stomping his chest.

* * *

Magneto and Wanda looked at one another, while hers was unreadable; Eric had regret in his eyes. Slade then walked between them, holding his arms out.

"Wanda, I can understand your desire to hate Magneto, but he did save our lives…doesn't that warrant the benefit of the doubt?" Slade asked.

Wanda hesitantly nodded her head she couldn't forgive Magneto. But for the sake of her children she could at least try to better understand the new man her father was becoming.

"So this is Thomas and William, I finally see now…they truly are my grandchildren" Magneto said, taking a step towards the two boys.

Suddenly, Kin's remains flew towards the group. Its claws sharpened and stop just inches from Eric's eyes. The man was clearly struggling to keep the metal at bay. Then Slade saw it, the beating heart in the centre of the metal, it was flesh and blood. Kin, though unable to talk was still alive and still craving for a kill. Slade gripped his scythe tightly; if he didn't kill Kin then Magneto would die. Suddenly a white and blue blur rushed through Kin, leaving a dagger plunged straight through his heart. The general died without muttering a single word. Magneto would have collapsed if it wasn't for Billy and Tommy supporting his arms.

"Thank you boys, I need to rest before I try using my powers again" Magneto said.

"Yeah but who stabbed the general?" Tommy asked.

"Bah, this child couldn't be your son Wanda, he lacks common sense"

The Young Avengers turned to their right and widened their eyes as they saw another old school Avenger. Quicksilver stood before them, wearing his second blue and white costume with his daughter Luna perched on his shoulders. Slade shook his head; this was a family reunion he'd rather not be in the middle of.

"Actually Pietro Tommy's a lot like you" Wanda said and Billy nodded his head in agreement.

"NO I'M/HE'S NOT!!!" The Two speedsters yelled at the same time.

They looked at one another, then huffed and crossed their arms. Billy and his teammates burst into laughter while Wanda and Magneto watched the scene with smiles on their faces. Slade held back the need to smile, now this was the kind of reunion he wanted to see. Suddenly his eyes widened as he felt something happening to Sieg.

* * *

"Are we just going to stand here while the boy gets beaten to death?" Puma asked Paladin.

"Don't worry, Nuke's not gonna kill him, he's just gonna ruin his face" Paladin said casually.

Nuke laughed as he slammed his fist into Sieg's face. He was quite astonished that the boy was getting up after every hit. His legs were shaking uncontrollably; he looked like he was having a seizure of some kind.

"How pathetic, you'd better enjoy your life while you can boy…cause once Osborn gets here you can kiss your girlfriend goodbye" Nuke whispered into Sieg's ear as he pulled on his hair.

Suddenly Sieg's silver hair changed to a red colour as a black sword appeared in his hand. The Cuckoos looked at the blade, it was a twisted, more sinister version of his swords crystallised form. With one swing, Sieg beheaded Nuke and looked to the Thunderbolts with glowing red eyes.

"What the hell…but the Spin tech!" Hardball said, he and his agents quivered in fear as Sieg began to growl.

Black armour suddenly covered his body; his shoulder guards and kneepads were shaped like blades while the fingers of his gauntlets looked like claws. The armour on his back and the tips of his feet grew spikes while his helmet left his hair and eyes uncovered. Like a beast he yelled out, a part of his helmet opening like the jaws of a demon. His roar echoed through the entire city, catching the attention of Spider-man, Rachel and Nightcrawler, who were miles away from that area. Celeste watched in fear as Sieg walked with his back hunched, roaring before he ran at the Hydra agents.

"Oh god, what have I done?"

Next Chapter 14: The day of loss

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next is when things get worse for the whole planet


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

The corrupt form will be featured in True Heroism

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 14: The day of loss

James had seen the form before; he had seen it more times than he wanted to. A corrupt armour form, the barer of such a form would be driven insane by their power. Others had turned into pure evil, lacking any form of conscience or mercy. But others like Sieg would be drawn into a berserker rage, and the claws of a beast were even more dangerous than blades of evil.

"I've never seen Sieg effected by the corrupt form before, our options are to one knock him out, two, restrain him until he burns all his power out or three give him his sword so that the spirit inside it can calm him" James explained.

The team chosen to face Sieg was Wondra, Scarlet Spider, Darkhawk, Major Victory, Renascence, Veda, Reckless and Pixie.

"You know we do have a fourth option" Veda said.

"No! We never let it come to that!" James growled, putting on the helmet of his grey and red armour.

"So what's the plan?" Patrick asked.

"Hit him till he drops" Darkhawk said.

* * *

Security tapped his foot against the floor, his hand to his earpiece as he tried to contact James.

"DAMN IT!!!" He yelled.

"Still cant get a hold of him?" Darwin asked.

"No, he needs to know that we have the sword before he gets one of our team mates killed" Security said.

"I'll go over there then" Vulcan said.

"I'll come with you too" Security said as he pulled a laser blaster from his back.

* * *

Sieg's roar shattered windows as he ran at the Thunderbolts. With one swing of his sword, he created a wave that cut apart all of the Hydra agents. Phoebe and Mindee grabbed their sisters, running towards a building as Sieg attacked the shadow operatives. He swung his sword around madly, cutting Yelena's arm and smacking Puma across the head. Constrictor tied his coils around Sieg, but he grabbed the coils, reversing the electric shock back at Constrictor. Typhoid Mary used her pyrokenesis, engulfing Sieg in flames. But she gasped in horror as his eyes glowed in the flames. He rushed forward, swinging his sword downwards. Fortunately Puma tackled Typhoid, pushing them both out of the path of Sieg's sword.

"Damn it feels like KIA all over again" Hardball said as two balls appeared in his hands.

"Without the whole cutting my legs off" Komodo said.

The two former lovers ran at Sieg. Komodo slashed him across the chest, but her claws had no effect on his armour. Hardball however managed to punch him across the head. Though it threw him back slightly, Sieg still recovered enough to swing his blade at Hardball. The former Initiative member created a ball to defend himself, but the force of the blade sent him flying backwards. Sieg punched Komodo across the face then growled as bullets from Paladin bounced off of his armour. Ghost assaulted Sieg with energy blasts, turning intangible to avoid Sieg's energy blades. Venom tried to bite Sieg, but his teeth shattered as soon as they touched his armour. Sieg slashed Venom across the neck then launched an energy blade at Penance. Robbie deflected the blade with an energy blast, watching in terror as Sieg hacked at Venom.

Elsewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the forces of Karabai's general Meijin clashed with Initiative and the armed forces. Navy Ships fired at the alien frigates; their cannons had little effect on the alien's metal. Hammer ships flew in midair, engaged in vicious dogfights with the alien fighters. Iron Patriot and Moonstone flew alongside the air force, shooting down ships with their beam attacks. The Dark X-men Mimic and Omega shot down fighter after fighter. Mimic blocked a punch from an insect alien, countering with a punch to its head.

"Agent Belova what is the situation in Manhattan?" Norman asked.

"It just got more complicated sir" Yelena said.

"Please explain!"

"Siegfried has changed into some new form, our spin tech isn't working on him"

"Damn it, keep him busy until Sentry arrives"

"Easier said than done" Yelena said, watching as Sieg slammed his feet into Penance.

He raised his blade, ready to behead the former New Warrior. Suddenly, lighting flew from the sky, slamming into Sieg's blade and electrocuting him. Smoke rose from his armour as he looked up in the sky. Thor flew towards Sieg with his hammer ready.

"FOR ASGARD!!!" Thor yelled, smacking Sieg across the head.

The berserker was sent flying through the wall of a building. But he stopped in midair, looking towards the approaching Crowner drop ship.

"All right boys and girls, hit him hard and fast but no killing" James said.

"Where's this guys parachute?" Victory asked, pointing to Reckless as he opened the drop ship door.

"He doesn't need one" James said.

"He never flew in Latveria" Pixie pointed out.

"His name is Reckless you know"

"Wait a second you don't mean…" But Patrick's words were interrupted as Reckless jumped off of the ship.

The team widened their eyes as Reckless dived towards Sieg. He grabbed his neck and sword, using his weight to drag Sieg down through the skylight of a building.

"Shit this guys insane" Wondra said.

"Oh he's perfectly sane" James said before flying off the ship.

His teammates followed him, those who didn't fly used their parachutes while Dark hawk and Pixie flew towards the building Reckless and Sieg had crashed into. Reckless slammed his fist into Sieg's jaw, tackling him through a window. The two combatants fell onto the roof of a car. Sieg swung his sword at Reckless, who flipped off of the car, landing smoothly on his feet. Veda created several Golems, who jumped at Sieg. With one swing of his sword he cut the golems apart, then jumped at Major Victory. Major Victory blocked the blade with his shield, grinding his teeth together as the force of Sieg's blade sent him sliding backwards. Scarlet Spider and Renascence wrapped their mechanical arms around Sieg, preventing him from moving for now.

"You bitches keep him still, I'll treat him to a little Spin tech overdose" Taskmaster said.

"Don't bother, it wont work on him" James said.

Sieg yelled, shattering the arms binding him and pushing Patrick and Sophia back with a shockwave. Growling he swung his sword at James, who flew to the side to avoid it. Darkhawk wrapped his grappling claw around Sieg's sword.

"Get the sword out of his hand!" Darkhawk said.

Major Victory, the Shadow Initiative and Wondra ran at Sieg, grabbing his arms and neck. But Sieg shook the fighters off of him, kicking Puma in the chest and cutting off Constrictors cybernetic arms. His sword glowed a fiery colour as he cut Typhoid Mary across the back. Then he swung his sword round, cutting off Komodo's legs. The girl fell to the ground, staring at her stumps in shock. They weren't growing back, and Sieg was standing over her ready to finish her off. Suddenly, Hardball slammed his fist into Sieg, pushing him into the arms of Wondra and James.

"Melati are you okay?" Hardball asked.

"Roger my legs, they aren't growing back" She said, tears running down her eyes.

"Oh god, I'll get you out of here Melati" Hardball said, throwing Melati onto his shoulder.

Thor flew at Sieg, smacking him into the air. He continued to smack Sieg across the head, the lighting flashing with every strike. The asgardian realised that he couldn't afford to hold back with Sieg. Swinging his hammer down, Thor hit Sieg so hard that he slammed into the ground. Pixie stared at Sieg as he rose from the crater he had left. His eyes were so full of rage, and a crack was already running over his helmet from Thor's strike. He roared again, jumping out of the crater and running towards the Avengers.

* * *

At the resistance base, Gloria and Hill were already beginning their evacuation plan.

"Where in the world can we go?" Hill asked.

"Anywhere but here" Gloria said.

Mary Jane picked up her daughter and ran out of her room with Aunt May. The Skrulls that had been saved by Slade also ran out of the infirmary.

"Everybody gather towards the tunnel, it'll be our way out of here" Gloria explained.

Mary Jane and Aunt May were the first to run through the tunnel. Then came Skarvis with Danielle in his arms. The command centre staff soon followed while Hill covered them from behind, her pistol at the ready.

"Go through Gloria, I'll cover you guys from behind" Ryder said.

"No way, you get your ass through that tunnel soldier, I'm staying" Gloria growled.

Ryder sighed before smacking the woman across the head with his rifle. Gauntlet caught Gloria as she fell and looked to Ryder with confusion.

"This is the only way I can make amends" Ryder said.

Gauntlet hesitantly walked down the tunnel, leaving Ryder to blow the exit up. He aimed his rifle at the main entrance, listening to the Hammer agents attempt to blow the door down. In James's tower, Security and the X-men walked into an office block and widened their eyes. The Hammer agents that Osborn had presumably sent to secure the tower had all been killed. Cable recognised the means of death, they had all been drained, and their skin was dry. Laurie too felt disturbed, for the agents skin looked like her hand had been when Kevin had touched it.

"RUN!!!" Security yelled as he fired a blast into the shadows.

The shadows suddenly came alive, lashing out at the X-men.

"Selene!" Cable growled as the scantily clad woman appeared before them.

But the Black Queen wasn't alone; she had a former X-men villain Senyaka, former Generation X member Blink and former Hellion Wither by her side. Kevin widened his eyes as he looked at Laurie. He had visited her grave many times before he met Selene, but now here she was standing before him.

"The world is in chaos, the perfect time to destroy those who stand in my way" Selene said.

"Cable, Darwin you get the kids out of here, make sure Sieg gets his sword back…plus I don't want them to see what's about to happen" Security said, narrowing his eyes.

Cable nodded his head, grabbing Laurie and blasting a hole through the window.

"Everybody retreat, we're going out of here right away" Cable said, lifting the team up with his TK.

"You don't seriously think we're going to let you get away?" Senyaka asked, readying his whip.

Suddenly, a beam tore through Senyaka's chest. Security lowered his smoking blaster, glaring at the intruders behind his mask as the X-men flew away.

"You do realise your going to die right?" Selene asked.

"That doesn't matter, so long as the others get away then I can die content…knowing that I defied you" Security said, dropping his blaster and spreading his arms out. "ENGAGING SECURITY FIELD!!!" He yelled.

Blue, holographic pads suddenly appeared in front of Security's hands. With every type of the holographic buttons, Security created an energy shield to protect his front, along with energy blasters. Selene simply smirked before motioning her hand, ordering her two remaining servants to attack. Blink threw a spear at Security, but his barrier deflected her projectile. Security fired an energy blast into Wither's chest knocking him to the floor. His will based constructs took shape into a pair of Gatling guns that fired on Selene. The bullets ripped off pieces of her skin, forcing her to gun to the side. But even under cover she wasn't safe, sections of the walls slid open, revealing cameras with rifles attached. The armour piercing rounds slammed into Selene's chest and head, sending her blood spraying across the floor.

"NOW YOU KNOW WHY THEY CALL ME SECURITY!!!" The masked man yelled.

* * *

Across New York, Spider-man watched from the rooftops as Nightcrawler and Rachel Grey were forced onto a Hammer transport truck. Right now he couldn't do anything to help, alls he could do was pray that his family was safe. The New Avengers also faced a similar dilemma as Ares and squadrons of Hammer agents broke into Bucky's apartment. Wolverine ran into the agents, clashing them with his claws. Clint and Bobbi punched and kicked the agents as hard as they could, but were quickly overrun by their superior numbers. Luke Cage slammed his fist into Ares's face, cracking his helmet.

"SHIT YOU ALL NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!!" Luke yelled.

"EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!" Ms Marvel yelled, throwing several agents off of Wolverine.

"GAAAGH! BOBBI!!!" Clint yelled, reaching for his wife's hand.

But one of the agents smacked him across the head, knocking him unconscious. Wolverine beheaded one agent after another, yelling as they shot him with Tasers. Jessica and Luke punched their way through the agents, but gas canisters began to fly through the windows, spraying knockout gas through the apartment.

* * *

At the resistance base, the Agents had finally broken through. Ryder fired his rifle, shooting several agents as they ran into the base. He threw a grenade, ducking behind cover. Miss Hand grinded her teeth together as Ryder fired blindly from his hiding place, keeping the agents back with a spray of gunfire. While Ryder continued to keep the agents busy, Gloria and Hill ran with Tigra and Gauntlet, assisting the resistance staff and the Skrulls as they waded through the sewers.

"Where exactly are we planning on going?" Mary Jane asked, keeping little May above the sewage.

"In his younger days James used to go to a restaurant in china town, after it went out of business James converted it to a safe house that the super humans in his employ could use, the basement there wont fit all of us so you, Harry and the Skrulls can hide there while the rest of us go to a church in Queens" Gloria explained.

"What happens then?" Warren asked in his regular angel form.

"We wait Twenty four hours for James, if he doesn't show up we get some form of transport, pick up the Skrulls and get as far away from the city as we can" Gloria said.

"It doesn't look like there's much hope left" Tigra sighed, rubbing her belly.

"Whatever happens we look after the civilians, that's our job right?" Trauma asked.

"They were all taken to shelters, apart from the Parkers and Osborn we don't really have any civilian staff apart from the Skrulls" Gauntlet said.

* * *

Everything was falling apart; Slade sensed that it wasn't just the resistance base that had been over run but the shelters across America as well. War Machine and Pepper Potts fired the weapons on their armour, defending the civilian shelter in Texas. But despite their intervention, the aliens had still broken through and began gathering the hundreds of American citizens into prison ships.

"Why are they taking the civilians?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know…just focus on helping the Initiative get them AAAAGH!!!!" War Machine yelled in pain as an energy blast flew into his back.

"RHODEY!!" Pepper yelled.

Karabai's general Denatsu floated towards Rhodey and Pepper. Rhodey fired his Gatling guns, but the bullets merely bounced off of Denatsu's energy shield. He fired another blast into Rhodey's chest, pushing him into the ground. Pepper fired her Uni-beam, but Denatsu merely deflected the beam with the palm of his hand. He threw an energy wave into Pepper, throwing her into Rhodey. Then he gathered energy into his hands firing a blast that consumed both Rhodey and Pepper. When the dust cleared, the two of them lay across the ground unconscious.

"Get them to the ship, kill anyone who resists" The General said as two insectoid machines picked Pepper and Rhodey up.

Across the world, those who lived in small towns or villages were being forced out of their homes. In Wundagore, Slade and the Young Avengers watched as alien grunts were dragging the villagers out of their huts. For Magneto it was an all too familiar sight. When he saw the armoured soldiers kicking the humans, he saw Nazis kicking Jews. Then he looked to the skies, the ships and flying soldiers were too many even for him to defeat.

"Wanda, take the children and leave" Magneto said.

"But Eric"

"Don't Wanda, just go…I cannot stand idly by while these people are…I know what they are intending to do, it is something I cannot allow to happen" Magneto growled.

Without listening to another word of protest, Magneto flew at the soldiers. Any metallic object, cutlery, screws, and tools any kind of metal object flew around Magneto as he stabbed the soldiers with the metal. They flew around the master of magnetism as the villagers ran towards the woods. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch then ran from their hiding place, moving to their fathers aid.

"MOM!!!" Billy yelled.

"DON'T WICCAN! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!" Slade yelled.

"Your right, you do need to get out of here"

Slade turned to where he heard the voice; standing at the edge of the woods was Loki. She put her hands together and before Slade could move to attack he, Eli, Cassie and Hulkling were teleported away from Wundagore.

"THAT BITCH!!!" Slade yelled, slamming his fist into the floor.

Loki had transported them to the outskirts of New York. Slade knew that those left behind would fight bravely. But they would inevitably be captured. He heard his dark side laughing on the inside.

**"You see Slade, looks like your going to have to make the choice"**

* * *

Thor and Sieg continued to clash in the streets of Manhattan. James tried to aid them, but was quickly thrown aside by Sieg. His armour shattered, the pieces falling off his body as he landed in Darkhawk's arms. As Thor and Sieg prepared to clash again, a yellow and blue blur flew between them. Both fighters were sent flying backwards from the force of Sentry's punches.

"Ah shit, the big powerhouses are here" Darkhawk said.

"It's worse than that!" James said, looking up in the sky.

Alien mother ships began to fire on the city, destroying buildings and parts of the road. Sieg grappled with Sentry, roaring as he slammed his fist into the heroes face. A door slid open on the mother ship and insectoid robots began to fly out. They flew around the heroes on the ground, grabbing James and Darkhawk.

"PIXIE! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" James yelled.

"WHAT ABOUT SIEG!!"

Cable and his X-men flew towards the battle between Sieg and Sentry. Vulcan removed the sword from his back, but was shot in the chest by a flying invader. The sword slammed in to the ground, just inches from Roger and Melati.

"PIXIE! TELEPORT THEM OUT! GET AWAY NOW!!!" James yelled as he was flown away by the machines.

Sieg punched Sentry again and again, shocking the hero with strength that was enough to hurt him. He swung his fist into Sieg's face, shattering his helmet. Celeste and her sisters struggled under the grip of the insect machines. She watched as the machines grabbed the members of the Shadow Initiative and the Thunderbolts. Only Venom was able to get away, crawling into the shadows whilst Hardball defended himself and Komodo with a barrier. Phoebe and Mindee were dragged across the floor while Celeste managed to pry her hands free from the machine. She ran as fast as she could out of the building. Celeste threw a rock at one of the machines, attempting to free her sisters. But the machine ignored her, flying away with her sisters in its hands.

But then, Celeste and Megan looked at Sieg as he got up off the floor. Gone was the innocent and Naiveté, now all was left was rage. He jumped at Sentry, slamming his fist into the mans chest. Sentry threw Sieg off of him, but again Sieg leapt after the man.

"THOR FORGET THIS FIGHT! YOU GET TO ASGARD! PREPARE THEM FOR THE FINAL BATTLE!!!" Cable yelled. "AND SOMEBODY GRAB THE SWORD!!"

* * *

In the underground base, Ryder walked towards the holding cells. He knew what he was about to do was suicide but he didn't care. The least he could do was give the others time to get away and take a few Hammer agents with him. He pressed the release button, smiling as the prisoner ran out of the cell. Even when the general crushed him underfoot Ryder still smiled, he had done his part. The Hammer agents faced total chaos as Gigas crashed through the walls, growing to his giant size. He gathered a few agents in his hand and threw them down his throat.

"OH HOW GOOD IT FEELS TO BE OUT AGAIN!!!" Gigas yelled, squashing agents beneath his feet.

Miss Hand typed Osborn's frequency into her radio; she was going to need major back up in order to deal with the increasingly growing Gigas. Security widened his eyes as he saw Gigas burst out of the ground, growing as tall as the tower. He then turned his attention to Selene and her minions. Security cursed as his powers faded, he was out of energy. Drawing his pistols, Security ran away from Wither and Blink, shooting the former in the knee.

"Damn, looks like this is my last job" Security said, breathing heavily as Selene crept behind him.

He turned around, shooting her in the face. Blink then appeared in front of him, throwing a pair of javelins at him. Security dived to the right, knowing that the girl was most likely under mind control Security didn't want to kill her. Wither crawled across the floor, removing his gloves and touching Security's ankle. He yelled in pain as Wither's powers crumbled the cloth and withered his skin.

"NOOOOO!!!!" He yelled, falling to the floor.

Kevin crawled towards Security, raising his hand as he prepared to finish him off.

"Why are you doing this?" Security asked weakly.

"Why should I hide what I really am? MY powers kill, so I kill its as simple as that" Wither said.

"Good, that means I don't need to feel guilty about this" Security said before shooting Wither in the head.

Selene laughed as she got up off the floor. She walked towards Security, looking at Wither's body coldly. The masked man looked up at Selene defiantly, shooting multiple shots from his pistol. But that wouldn't be enough to kill Selene; though Security had read she was apparently immortal it didn't mean she was unstoppable. To Security, Immortality was just another word that powerful mutants hid behind. There was someone out there who could kill Selene.

"A valiant effort, you'll be worth draining" Selene said as she licked her lips.

* * *

At the Graymalkin building, Emma Frost hid a smile as her teammates watched news reports of rebel heroes being captured by the invaders. With them out of the way, Osborn could further his plans. Alex, Bobby, Rogue, Sam and a few Madrox dupes were the only people in the building right now. And Sieg hadn't yet revealed her betrayal to the team. Everything was going according to plan. Alex looked out of the window of his room, widened his eyes as he saw a cloaked figure flying towards the building. Whoever it was wore armour similar to Iron Man's. He stopped mere feet away from the building. Stretching his arms out, the Iron Man began to charge his Uni-Beam.

"EVERYBODY BRACE YOURSELVES!!!" Alex yelled.

The Iron Man fired a massive beam from his chest, consuming a portion of the buildings base. As he flew upwards, the Graymalkin building began to collapse. Cannonball flew upwards, the rubble disintegrating as it touched his barrier. Reaching the air, Sam yelled in pain as a beam slammed into his chest, knocking him out of the skies. Emma burst out of the rubble, her diamond form disappearing as she limped through the wreckage. Bobby was lying on the ground, his arm shattered and his ice skin cracking. Sam survived thanks to his powers, and Alex looked like he was breathing just barely though. All of the Madrox dupes were dead and Rogue was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Emma asked as she was suddenly overcome by a deep sense of fear.

The Iron Man floated before her, opening the palm of his hand.

"Your plans will fail in the future, but I think I'll settle for killing you now" He said.

Emma waited for the blast, but it never came. A woman dressed like the Enchantress walked behind Iron Man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She can still be useful, don't worry, she wont speak of this encounter for sometime" Enchantress said, poking Emma's head.

The white queen suddenly collapsed, unconscious in her diamond form.

"I didn't realise you could do that" Iron Warlord said.

"From this point onwards she'll be too scared to go out of her diamond form, she will be trapped in that form for the rest of her life…and perhaps live for eternity in that form" Enchantress said.

"Good…a fitting punishment, now let us go" Iron Warlord said before the two leaders of the future Avengers disappeared.

* * *

Cities were in ruin, the resistance HQ had been destroyed, and Karabai's forces were gathering civilians and heroes alike. Half of the Navy fleet had been decimated in the recent attack. Gigas had returned to his armies, bearing stories of the men he had squashed and eaten. Miss Hand entered a Hammer transport; Sentry had given up his fight with Sieg and was sitting beside Norman.

"Good work today Bob, you should get some rest" Norman said.

"Yes sir…I never met anyone who could make me bleed" Bob said, nursing a cut on his shoulder.

Norman nodded his head calmly, though inside he was scared for dear life. That boy Sieg had so much power bottled up inside him, and to think Osborn once tried to manipulate that power.

* * *

Reckless was the only one standing; everyone else was too tired to even limp. Thor, though hesitant took Cable's advice and retreated to Asgard. If everyone else failed, he would be the planets last hope. Sieg dragged his sword across the floor, the left half of his armour had completely shattered, and a sign that he had burned through his powers. He prevented anyone from reaching his sword and now stood ready to plunge his sword into Reckless's chest. Celeste and Pixie looked at Sieg as he growled at Reckless. The man wasn't moving an inch, it as if he was welcoming the blade.

"Sieg please this isn't you!" Pixie said.

"Sieg listen to me don't do this…I know you're still in there" Celeste cried.

The powerhouses like Veda, Darkhawk and Wondra had all been captured and Hardball was already carrying Komodo away from the fight. Everyone knew that Sieg was going to kill this man; for once the only emotion they experienced when they looked at Sieg was fear. Yet fear was something they couldn't afford to let hold them back. Laurie had been afraid to often, at home, in school; she had always feared her power. Sophia didn't have her wind powers, and she wasn't the girl that Laurie had called her best friend anymore. She couldn't help; only Laurie could control her abilities.

"SIEG NO!!!" Pixie yelled as the boy raised his sword.

Suddenly Laurie ran into Sieg, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her pheromones flew into his nose, but Laurie knew that wouldn't be enough.

"It's okay Sieg, just let go of it…let go of the anger, let go of the hate…please Sieg, I don't know you, but I do know that this isn't the real you….your not a bad person…so please Sieg just let go of it all and wake up, come back to us" Laurie cried, tears dripping onto her shoes.

The armour and sword shattered and tears fell on Laurie's head. Sieg looked at the bodies and the damage he had done. Falling to his knees, Sieg coughed as the sorrow overcame him. Laurie continued to hold Sieg, letting him cry his eyes out and both Pixie and Celeste lowered their heads, feeling that they should have been the ones to save Sieg. Reckless looked at who was left, the Young X-men minus Ink, Scarlet Spider and Renascence, Pixie, Celeste and Laurie, everyone else who had been here was captured by the enemy.

"So what happens now?" Anole asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

* * *

Driver ran into the Crowner building, stopping at the office block. He widened his eyes as he saw Security's clothes, no flesh or no bones nothing was left but dust.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Driver asked, holding back tears.

Selene suddenly appeared behind him and whispered into his ear.

"He became my nourishment dear, he became a sacrifice for this worlds new Queen!"

Next Chapter 15: The aftermath of tragedy

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 15: The aftermath of tragedy

The president had abandoned his bunker and stood in the white house. Looking out of the window of his main office, he saw the damage that had been done to Washington. Cities were in ruins and monuments like the Washington memorial had been destroyed. The grass was charred and memorials had been broken. But America wasn't the only place had been hit, in Paris the Eiffel tower had collapsed, in London Big Ben had a hole blown in its clock, while the Pentagon and UN buildings had been destroyed. People had been captured or killed, and the worse had been the intentional massacres, in every small village or town across the world the entire population of those towns had been killed, one town for each country. The bodies had been piled on top of one another, words carved into the ground.

"There will be no prejudice, no favouritism, no mercy!" Those were the words that every media company across the globe was reporting.

These invaders had no intention of letting anyone survive. In San Francisco, Cyclops and Jean landed the Black bird near the ruins of the Graymalkin building. Elixir, Gambit and Scott and Jean ran out of the jet.

"ROGUE!!!" Gambit yelled, sliding towards Rogue's body.

Elixir put his hands to the woman's chest. Healing the internal damage, Gambit began breathing into Rogue's mouth, trying to resuscitate her.

"JOSH GET OVER HERE!!!" Scott yelled.

Josh ran to Alex, and began healing him as best he could. But his powers were having no effect. He had been healing the injured and dying non-stop, even his omega level abilities had limits.

"ALEX! ALEX WAKE UP!!!" Scott yelled.

Havok spat out blood as he coughed. He grinded his teeth together, fighting the pain. Jean looked to Emma and narrowed her eyes; the woman was in her diamond form, just sitting on the floor. Walking over to the woman, Jean grabbed her collar.

"What the hell happened here Emma, tell me!" Jean growled.

"I…I cant remember" Emma muttered.

"BULLSHIT!!!" Jean yelled, throwing the woman to the ground.

"Bobby are you all right?" Scott asked as Bobby walked towards them.

"Just give me a minute then I'll recover" Bobby said.

"Thank god" Gambit said, cradling Rogue as she breathed, weakly but she was still alive at least.

"What happens now, the Cerebro's at the mansion and in the tower were trashed, we've got next to no way of coordinating attacks" Sam said, limping through the wreckage.

"We need to keep fighting the enemies in front of us" Scott explained.

"With no base and no way of refuelling the jet it'll be a wasted effort" Gambit said.

"That doesn't matter, our job is to look after survivors, to keep the invaders focused on their attack while the others fight" Cyclops said, walking towards the blackbird.

The X-men had a job to do, and they were going to carry out that job.

* * *

He remembered all to well the last time that he and James Barnes spoke. It had been an interesting encounter, the sidekick of Captain America and his successor. Bucky was the kind of hero kids wanted to be. But he wasn't a kid anymore; he tried to make a name for himself in the Initiative. He ended up getting killed then cloned; his body was still at Camp Hammond. Michael Van Patrick, or at least his clone felt that he had taken a heavy burden. One that Bucky originally bared.

_Gone were the flag and boots, now Bucky wore his Winter Soldier uniform. He looked at MVP with a serious expression across his face._

"_Someone in authority needs to be told of Osborn, he needs to be told everything about Osborn, James took the evidence to someone we can trust but the person who can lead the country's defence initiative needs someone to look after him in case his meeting with the president doesn't go up to speed" Bucky explained._

"_And you can't do this as Captain America?" MVP asked._

"_I'm going to be doing things, things that Steve probably wouldn't approve of, I cant do them as Cap, the Winter Soldier isn't a hero, he's a killer…and that might be what we need at this time, but we still need hope, especially since things are about to get even more complicated…you should be the one to give them that hope" Bucky said._

_MVP widened his eyes as Bucky passed the shield into his hands. Staring at the star on the shield, MVP then looked to Bucky._

"_Why me? Why not Watkins or US Agent, Falcon was Captain Roger's partner for a time he can take the mantle"_

"_Because you're familiar with the times, Steve and I were both lost in the times, we weren't qualified to follow today's politics, you have the strength and the will to do what's right and your young, you are part of the next generation, the young who fight today and will continue to shape our future…be their hope Michael!" Bucky said, patting the young mans shoulder before walking past him._

_MVP held the shield hesitantly, staring at the star at its centre._

He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, wearing his camouflage fatigues with Bucky's Captain America shirt and gloves. Right now he needed to find the surviving resistance members. Sliding down a ladder, Michael ducked behind a trash bin as a squadron of Hammer agents marched past the alleyway. He also couldn't afford to get into a fight until he actually found his teammates.

* * *

Driver felt the coldness of Selene's breath, it wasn't something he wanted to bare for a second longer. So he dashed to Security's remains, scooping up the dust in his hands, Driver allowed his tears to fall onto the dust. Selene merely laughed as Driver moaned, mourning his friend's loss. He removed his sunglasses, letting the tears fall to the floor.

"Perhaps you should think of running away" Selene giggled.

"No way, I'm going to stop and cry my eyes out for as long as it takes, he deserves those tears" Driver said.

"Your friend put up a fight till the end, but he stood in the way of my godhood"

"GODHOOD!!" Driver yelled, squashing his glasses in his hand. "So your one of those people huh! I know your kind; you think you can walk all over people, you think your superior to everyone else…well guess what bitch your as far from being beyond other people as you can get, people like you who don't cherish the things they have, the lives of your friends…I knew someone like you, it took friends dying for him to realise just how precious those friends truly are"

"Oh great, another self-righteous fool" Selene laughed.

"SHUT UP! I'm not going to let you get away with this, you should feel privileged Selene cause I'm about to go faster than I've ever gone before" Driver said as metal plates flew onto his body.

An Aerodynamic style helmet covered his head, while red and yellow armour covered the rest of his body. He crouched into the Olympic running position, growling as Selene laughed. Blink looked at the scene with a neutral expression across her face. And like her namesake she blinked and when she opened her eyes, Selene was gone and Driver was crouched in front of her, his armour shattering with sweat running down his face.

"I don't understand" Clarice said.

"You shouldn't have blinked" Driver laughed.

A second was all it took for Driver to run into Selene and carry her across the world. The speeds they travelled at were enough to disintegrate every cell in Selene's body. While Driver remained alive, he was tired with bleeding toes and torn tendons. He ignored Blink, crawling towards Security's remains.

"I'm so sorry buddy, I should have ran faster" Driver sniffed.

Driver's ship flew to the buildings side and slowly the downed speedster crawled towards the cockpit. He didn't care about Blink; if she caused trouble then she'd be dealt with later. Right now Driver just wanted to get away from the tower, away from what was left of his friend. Blink watched as the ship flew away, and for once since Selene resurrected her she felt sadness. But that sadness was gone as her true master walked into the room. Eli Bard looked down at the bodies of Wither and Senyaka. His love was gone, but he swore that he would succeed where she had failed.

* * *

Slade and the remaining Young Avengers walked into the city. Cassie gasped at the carnage around them. It was Slade who lowered his head in shame. Perhaps his dark side was right; perhaps this could have been avoided had he made the choice. Looking to the Young Avengers, he decided he'd make one choice that wouldn't be very difficult.

"Patriot, I want you to take this communicator, you guys are officially part of the resistance, I've got some things I need to take care of" Slade explained.

"Like what?" Hulkling asked.

"Something that'll help me to make my choice, see you guys later" Slade said before he flew into the air.

Slade flew as fast as he could towards the place where all the heroes' troubles had begun. The ruins of Stamford Connecticut damaged even further by the alien attack. He sat down on the rubble, looking at the floor and thinking.

* * *

Iron Man flew across the desert, shooting at the pursuing alien forces. Their beams slammed into his armour, taking pieces of the shoulder off. Firing his repulsors, Tony blasted two of the fighter jets out of the sky. He cursed at the readings on his armour, his energy was getting dangerously low. But still he couldn't falter he needed to keep going. Gathering energy for his Uni-beam, Tony aimed at the frigate launching the fighters. They focused their fire on Tony, ripping off pieces of his armour. With a yell, Tony fired the Uni-beam straight into the cockpit of the frigate. With its only form of control lost, the machine fell to the sand, followed swiftly after by Tony. He bounced across the desert, skidding to a halt near a mountain region.

'Damn it, is this how it ends?' Tony wondered.

One of the fighters dropped a bomb on the floor and Tony crossed his arms together.

The explosion sent him flying back, but it wasn't the explosion that harmed him. IT was an all to familiar feeling, the feeling of shrapnel piercing his chest. Coughing, Tony threw off his helmet and chest plate. He cursed his dwindling intelligence, if only he had fought closer to the city, if only he had told James of the effect the Extremis formula leaving his system had. And if only he had been more sparing with his armour. He stared at the blood on his hand as his vision blurred.

"I guess this really is it then" Tony said to himself.

"Are you really thinking of giving up now boy?"

Tony swung his head round and gasped at who he saw. His father Howard Stark!

* * *

All Atlanteans heard a yell across the ocean. Namor flew out of the water, carrying with him a serpent. This was all that remained of his former wife Marrina. She had been resurrected and twisted into a monster by Osborn and his lab. Namor thought back to the last meeting between the Cabal and remembered a reason why Osborn had betrayed him.

_They all sat around a table as they usually did, the atmosphere around them being less than pleasant._

"_I have summoned you all here to discuss a new plan, it revolves around that Sieg character" Norman began._

"_He may be more difficult for you to control than you think Osborn" Emma pointed out._

"_Don't worry Miss Frost, controlling him isn't truly my aim…you see the machine I am building will absorb the energy from super powered beings, our preliminary test subjects have all died, but Weapon Omega gained considerable power from them, and none of them were over a class three threat, but this boy Sieg…he contains considerable power, tell them Miss Frost"_

"_I am not sure where Sieg draws his power from, but when all hope was lost in the White Hot room he gathered enough power to shatter the M'Kran crystal" Emma said._

"_Impossible!" Doom said._

"_Oh believe me it happened Victor, he died then came back and defeated the most powerful Super Skrull we have ever encountered, then he fought the Phoenix Corps, and then he battled and defeated the M'Kran crystal itself" Emma explained._

"_Hmmm, interesting…so is our plan to capture Sieg and drain his energy?" Loki asked._

"_Yes, imagine the power we could all obtain, power beyond Dormammu and Odin themselves" Norman said._

_Loki smirked while Hood whistled, power beyond their gods was enough to rule their own worlds. Doom lowered his head; perhaps this would be power beyond Mephisto, enough power to bring back his mother from the demons clutches. Emma was fine without the power; if it meant revenge on Sieg then it was all right. Namor however thought differently._

"_You have taken a dangerous path Osborn, instead of preparing for the coming threat of which you still haven't told your governments of you choose to scheme and capture a boy to utilise his power, how cowardly of you…you could end the conflicts on Earth now by uniting its people against a common threat, this will be the death of you Osborn" Namor explained._

"_Is that a threat Namor?" Norman asked with a glare._

"_I assure you Osborn I wouldn't waste my time threatening you"_

_As Namor left the meeting, Norman glared at the King's back._

Namor looked at the body of his former lover.

"May you find peace" He said solemnly as he lowered the body into the water.

The Atlanteans began to gather as the body sunk to the ocean floor. When they looked at it, they saw the beautiful form of their King's wife. They bowed their heads, honouring those who died and were about to die. In Africa, Shuri bowed her head to the graves of Wakandan warriors killed, including her brother. The thousands of American citizens that hadn't been captured lit candles and, something Gloria did in the church as the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff set up a single laptop and short wave battery powered radios. Colossus and Illyana stood on the ruins of their old farm; nothing was left standing in the wake of the recent attack. J Jonah Jameson sat in his office, staring at an old typewriter.

"Jonah, how are you holding up?" Robertson asked.

"Not very well Robert, my son has died, invaders apparently attacked the airfield he worked at…the only evidence that I existed besides words on some paper…and for once, the only thing I can think of writing are curses for Osborn and praises for this resistance…if not for the registration act we could have had thousands of heroes across the globe, protecting us when they needed to" Jonah said, typing his words down. "We argued, John and I…he told me that this very country had become a joke because of Osborn and that the only reason this has happened is because of "idiots like you who only see the bad" I looked out the window today Robert and you know what I saw, a world where Avengers were like policemen, held back by a red line…no by thousands of red lines that said "don't do this, don't do that, the people wont like you for it, they need to see your face, you need to stay within your jurisdiction all those FUCKING EXCUSES TO STOP THEM!!!"" Jonah yelled, throwing the typewriter off the desk.

Robertson looked at the man he had worked with for years. He'd seen Jameson in moods similar to anger and sadness. But this was way beyond what he had even been like. The man even reached for a cigar, something he had apparently given up. Betty Brant looked at the scene and then at her computer. Gossip column writer she may be, but in the past she had been a real journalist. So she began typing on her computer, first she needed a headline.

"_The Heroes needed!"_

* * *

Sieg stared at the sword in front of him, his hand shaking as he grabbed it. The sword returned to its natural form, but this time it didn't disappear when Sieg commanded it to. Then again a war was going on, so naturally Sieg would need his sword out at all times, that was probably why it didn't disappear earlier. Strapping the blade to his back, Sieg looked to the other remaining resistance members. They all looked tired and Sieg didn't blame them, he'd never used the corrupt form before, at least not in front of any people. He looked up at the sky; somewhere on the verge of their planet was Karabai. No one knew what the man himself was capable of, but Sieg could only imagine the power he wielded. It was then that Renascence's communicator came to life.

"This is Captain America contacting all Avengers, I repeat this is Captain America contacting all resistance members…. I know most of us our scattered but we've got to stand together and face the alien threat right away, I'm calling all available Avengers to come to the ruins of the Avengers mansion, I repeat the ruins of the Avengers mansion, whatever Karabai has planned for the people he's captured now is the time to launch a rescue mission, please…anyone who can help come to the mansion immediately"

The others recognised the voice as that of Michael Van Patrick. But most people wondered what had happened to Bucky. Sieg narrowed his eyes, he knew where the old Avengers mansion was, and it was a place he needed to get to.

"Guys I'm going there" Sieg said.

"But Sieg, the resistance has been shattered wouldn't it be better to…"

"What Celeste, roll over and die, pray…sit back and wait for someone else to save the world, or maybe you think I should join up with the Initiative" Sieg said as he walked towards the alleyway. "WELL THIS IS WHAT YOUR INITIATIVE DOES CELESTE! THIS IS THE FUTURE OF ALL MUTANTS!!!!" Sieg yelled, pulling out Julian's body.

The Young X-men looked at the body at a complete loss for words. Tears fell down Sophia's face as she rushed towards her exboyfriend. Cradling his body in her arms, Sophia cried her eyes out. Laurie fell to her knees while Gentle hugged Trance and Anole. Sieg too cried, grinding his teeth together.

"Even if I don't have the power anymore…I'm still going to fight on till the end…DAMN IT!! It was my fault…I didn't act, I just stood there confused over what the right thing to do was…I, I don't have the right to be called a hero…I'm the one to blame!" Sieg explained, the others looking at him as he cried.

Reckless walked over to Sieg and slammed his fist into the boys face. Sieg fell to the floor, staring there with a blank expression on his face.

"And so you want punishment for it?" Reckless asked, the others could tell he was using some kind of robotic synthesizer in his mask. "What kind of coward are you anyway? Do you think even heroes are above mistakes…NO ONE IS ABOVE MISTAKE!" Reckless yelled, punching Sieg across the face. "POLICE ARENT ABOVE MISTAKES! DOCTORS ARENT ABOVE MISTAKE! GOVERNMENTS ARENT ABOVE MISTAKES!!!" He punched the boy every time and Patrick motioned the other boys to back off, to let the man do what he had to do. "This is war, people die…you made your choice, accept responsibility for it but don't regret it at such a critical point as now…if you say your willing to fight on then get to that mansion and help, and don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself…you have to be willing to take hits, you have to be willing to die! Because the only people who can be heroes, who should be remembered are those who are willing to die for the right thing NOW GET UP!!!" Reckless yelled.

Sieg struggled to get off the ground; he still felt tired form all the energy he had burnt out. Celeste and Pixie moved to help him, but Reckless threw his arm out, knocking both girls back.

"DON'T HELP HIM! HE HAS LEGS HE CAN USE THEM!!!" Reckless yelled.

Patrick and Anole grinded their teeth together, squeezing their hands into fists. Sieg put his hands on the ground, trying to push himself back up. Laurie moved to Sieg's side, lifting his arm over her neck.

"I said don't help him!" Reckless growled.

"And I refuse to listen to you" Laurie said.

"And give me a reason why?"

"Because if people need help you don't just stand back because some guy says not to" Sophia said as she helped Laurie.

"It's about time some intelligent people started talking…you guys do what you need to do, and so will I" Reckless said as he walked away from the young ones, intending to commandeer a bike.

"I need to reach the other X-men, tell them about Frost and her plan" Celeste said.

"Then you're going to need someone to get you there" Pixie glared at Celeste.

"Megan, please drop me off in Africa first, I want to help defend my homeland" Gentle said.

"Yeah, I want to go back to San Fran, heck I'd like to go anywhere I can help" Ink said.

Patrick merely walked to Sieg's side, along with Renascence, Wall Flower and Anole. Hesitantly, Trance also joined them.

"I just want to get back to my boyfriend, to see how he is" Loa said, walking to Pixie as she chanted the spell.

Pixie took one final look at Sieg before disappearing. She would have liked to helped, but the X-men needed a teleporter on their side. That and Emma Frost needed to be stopped before she got anymore of the X-men killed. They would take Julian's body to the X-men as well as Sieg's statement to the X-men. That would be more evidence that they could use against Osborn.

* * *

Slade continued to think of the right path he should take. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps behind him. Getting up off the floor, Slade summoned his shield and scythe. Standing around him were the future X-men members as well as Skaar, the Sorceress Supreme, a Super Skrull and the Enchantress.

"Who are you people?" Slade asked.

"We are the future of this world Slade, and I'm here to tell you of your destiny…this world you protect is destined to be ruled by a Tyrant, whether it be Karabai, Osborn, Doom or my love this world will become one of order where even the pettiest of crime is punished with force" Enchantress explained, tossing her hair back.

Slade glared at the woman before he ran at her. War Machine flew in his way, blocking his scythe with his arm. Firing his Uni-beam, War Machine shot Slade in the chest. He quickly recovered, blocking a strike from Daken, and then kicking Beast in the head. Slade jumped over Magik as she swung her sword, flipping in midair, Slade threw his shield and scythe. Both weapons slammed into the chests of Shard and Torque. Then, Slade surrounded himself in his armour and changed into a form similar to Wolverine's. Popping out a pair of curved claws, Slade ran at Enchantress. Surge and Torque ran in his way, trying to attack him with their elemental abilities. But Slade slammed his foot into Surge's face, and then slashed Torque across the chest.

"You cant escape destiny Slade" Enchantress taunted.

Spinning on the spot, Slade cut Bishop, Rockslide, Magneta, Beast and Simian. Then he stabbed his claws into X-23's chest and yelled as he hammer threw X-23 into War Machine. He shifted his form again, transforming into a black suited Spider-man. Flipping over Push, Slade fired a web like tentacle at her back and pulled her into the air. In midair, Slade kicked the girl across the head then slammed his foot into her shoulder, sending her flying towards the ground. The Super Skrull flew at Slade, punching him with a fist of molten rock. Landing on his feet, Slade shifted into a form resembling Archangel's death persona. But before he could fly, Ruby fired an optic blast into his back. Then Skaar slammed his fist into Slade's chest. Grabbing his head, he then threw him towards the Sorceress Supreme, who fired a blast of magical energy from a very familiar staff. His armour shattered, revealing his natural form.

"No matter how hard you try a tyrant will rise" Enchantress smiled, tracing a finger along Slade's cheek.

He growled, summoning his shield and scythe. Blocking a punch from Skaar, Slade swung his scythe at X-23. But she ducked underneath the blow, slashing Slade across the chest. Slade kicked the girl in the chest, then cut Daken across the chest. Ruby fired a blast into his chest; opening the cut that X-23 had given him. Slade yelled as the blood fell down his legs. Grinding his teeth together he gathered energy into his scythe, launching an energy wave that separated the X-men. Then he threw his shield, controlling it with movements of his hand. Moving his hand to the right, he struck Surge, and then with a swing to the left he hit Beast round the back of the head. Pointing his hand in the air, Slade moved the shield into the Sorcerer Supremes chest, knocking her out of the skies. And with one final pulling motion he pulled the shield towards him, striking the back of Simian's head before grabbing the shield. Slade suddenly shivered as he felt Enchantress lick his ear.

"No matter how hard you try, nothing will stop our world from becoming a reality" She whispered. "Let me show you what its like to live there"

Slade span round, swinging his scythe at the woman. But she easily ducked underneath the blade, bringing her face towards Slade's. She pressed her lips against his and in that moment Slade saw it all. Warlord spreading his reign across countries, the murder of heroes like Sue Storm and Ben Grimm, the last of the Fantastic Four after Reed and Johnny are killed in Karabai's invasion. Iron Warlord wiped out the West coast, killed all UN representatives and heads of state. But enforcing a fascist regime wasn't enough to assure order. Omega Level mutants were executed at birth, the rest were put into camps. All form of art, poetry and self-expression was destroyed. Any rebel factions were quickly and publicly put down. It was a world of order, but it wasn't a world worth living in. A world without choice was something that Slade didn't want in any future. He'd fight to stop that from happening.

* * *

Tony couldn't believe his eyes. His father was standing right in front of him.

"Tony you idiot use your head…I'm not real!" Howard said.

"Gotta say buddy, he's right" Happy said, patting Tony's shoulder. "It's come down to this, using the dead to give you encouragement…come on Tony you've still got some juice left"

Tony looked to his right and saw not only Janet Van Dyne and Scott Lang but Steve Rogers too.

"Or maybe we've come down from heaven to offer you encouragement, then again it wouldn't be you Id encourage" Scott said.

"I think its more guilt, some of us could have been saved if only you had tried a little harder" Janet explained. "Especially Cap!"

Tony lowered his head as the people before him disappeared.

"Come on Tony, get up…don't quit on me yet!"

A red gloved hand appeared before Tony as sand began to blow around him. He looked at the owner with a guilty expression on his face. There he was, the one mirage he wasn't hoping for, his friend Steve Rogers.

"You still have one more plan left, you can still pull through, you always do Tony" Steve said with encouragement.

Then Yinsen crouched down to his level, frowning at Tony.

"Your legacy, the armour is being used by Osborn…your tower, your name being dirtied by those murderers, if this how your going to leave this story, is this the last act of defiance from the great Anthony Edward Stark, or are you going to pull a miracle out of that brain of yours?" Yinsen asked.

"I can't do anything…my armours gone, I'm bleeding and I'll probably be dead in another two days or a vegetable" Tony said.

"Then these next two days will be very important for you" Yinsen said.

"Come on Tony, get up…you cant end it like this the Avengers need someone to assemble them, rise up Tony…you still have one more plan" Steve said.

Tony widened his eyes he couldn't fall yet. Now wasn't the time to be sitting in the desert. Getting up off the floor he began his walk towards the sight of his origin. Years ago he had stored his original armour in the cave he had Yinsen had been imprisoned in. Walking towards the armour Tony smiled, it would be both symbolic and tactically effective. With his dwindling intelligence the first armour would be simple to use, while if he failed it would be good to be buried in his first armour. Putting on every part of the armour, Tony slowly walked towards the end of the cave. The pace maker built into the armour would keep his heart beating.

"NO GIVING UP NOW!!" Tony yelled, taking a running start and flying out of the cave.

Several alien fighters flew at Tony, the missiles contained in Tony's gauntlets shot two of them down. He dodged the lasers, performing various aerial manoeuvres before ramming one of the ships, cutting off its left wing. Then he slammed his hands into the nose of another, knocking it off its flight pattern and sending it flying into open of its comrades.

"Well what do you know, I can still plan like a genius" Tony said with a smile before flying off.

Igniting his rockets, Tony hit the sound barrier, flying at super sonic speeds. Right now he needed to get to San Francisco. He needed to keep fighting on as other heroes like Daredevil, She-Hulk and Crusader still fought. In England, Captain Britain cut alien machines open with his sword and ploughed through an army of Karabai's soldiers. The Great Lake Avengers put their effort into evacuating small German towns, while Gravity drove back Karabai's ground troops and Prime tore apart alien ships with his bare hands.

"People of Asgard, warriors and brothers, Midgard is approaching the final days of Karabai's battles, we must join the fight…no more defending this island, we must into the world and use our full power to defend it" Thor said as he gathered the other asgardian warriors.

"Why dear brother we are perfectly safe, surely father Odin would not approve of you choosing midgardian's over us" Loki said, smirking as Thor turned to her.

"I recently received a message from Eli Bradley, he told me of your trickery, because of you Wanda has been captured by the enemy so don't you dare speak of me about choosing Midgard over Asgard, you have chosen Midgard for years, using it as your personal playground…well today it ends Loki, you have taken the form of my lover but now your insult to her form ends!" Thor growled, holding out his hammer.

Loki widened his eyes as a beam flew forth from the hammer. The energy consumed Loki, splitting him apart. When the dust settled, Loki was unconscious on the floor in his male form, while standing in front of Thor was Lady Sif. The two lovers pressed their lips together, sharing a moment for only a few seconds.

"My brothers, we must go forth to Midgard and aid those who stand and fight!" Thor said solemnly. "FOR ODIN FOR ASGARD FOR FREEDOM!!!!" Thor yelled, raising his hammer.

The Asgardian gods raised their weapons and cheered, while Loki crept into the shadows. People continued to fight against those who attacked them. Whether it was a farmer with his shotgun or a villager with a spear people fought for their land. In the midst of tragedy heroes were born. Common people offering shelter, food or protection without any reward but the knowledge that what they do is right. And in the day following tragedy, heroes also returned. Karabai's alien grunts continued to gather people into ships, but this day the very ground shook and they watched as one ship was torn apart before they could get even a single prisoner onto it. The ground shook with every step he took and his very presence put fear into the invaders hearts. He growled, his strength building with his anger.

"Spacemen come invade Earth! Spacemen kill little children! HULK SMASH SPACEMEN!!!!"

He would crush evil and protect the innocent; more often than not the Hulk was a hero. And today, the presence of heroes would outweigh the presence of villains. Osborn had an army of villains, but Earth was a world of heroes. At Avengers Mansion, Michael Van Patrick sighed, it seemed that the heroes of Earth didn't have time for his place. Suddenly, the wall collapsed and the new Captain America looked upon Stature, Patriot and Noh-Varr.

"When we heard Captain America we were expecting a real one, not a wannabe" Eli said with a frown.

"You and your girlfriend are sure ones to talk" Michael said.

"Dude he's got you there" Hulkling said while Stature smiled.

Noh-Varr suddenly ran into the mansion, followed by Sieg and his group.

"I received your message, what is your plan?" Noh-Varr asked.

"Rescue people" Michael said.

"If that's the case you're going to need a ride!"

The heroes looked up and widened their eyes as a Quinjet hovered over them. Stature grew to her giant size and looked inside the cockpit, sitting there was Jocasta, Amadeus Cho, Jake Olsen and the Runaways. A smile crossed Stature's face, it seemed that things were about to get a lot better for the resistance.

* * *

The president had looked at the scenery long enough; it was time for him to get back to the bunker. Turning around he widened his eyes as he saw his secret service bodyguards on the floor unconscious. Standing over them was a brown haired man wearing a domino mask and some kind of metal on his arm.

"Mr President, good to finally meet you after all the stuff I read about you, I'm Bucky Barnes…yes the Bucky Barnes from World War 2…it's a very long story but that's not why I'm here" Bucky said.

"Those men reported in every ten minutes, if they don't report then Miss Hand will alert Osborn" The President said.

"I'm sorry sir, but I needed to talk to you face to face, to remind you of the things that Osborn has done…I understand he has your trust but…"

"Your wrong about that, I believe he can get results but I don't trust him, I've kept my eyes on him, but maybe not enough…even if I did revoke his status as leader of the Initiative what would happen then, our defence would fall apart, who would I choose to take over, you?"

"No sir, I'm just a soldier, I need you to understand that the people I work for have gathered evidence that can prove that Osborn has been using government resources for an evil means, tell me the alien prisoners that he apparently captures, have you ever actually been asked to see one, to talk to one, and these X-men and Avengers he has, most of them are his Thunderbolts former criminals and murderers, and you should know that this Xavier he has isn't even the real Xavier" Bucky explained.

"And what proof do you have of that?" The President asked.

"The word of the real Charles Xavier and his X-men, Osborn forgot I didn't need a wheelchair anymore" A bald man said as he walked out of the shadows.

He was Charles Xavier, the real Charles Xavier and with him was a man in a wheelchair that the President had never met before.

"Who is this man?" He asked.

"Mr President, my names Jack Flag…I was crippled by Bullseye sir a murderer working for Osborn, then I was beaten from within an inch of my life by Swordsman and locked away without anything that accounted for a trial…tell me sir, is that the America you had in mind when you took the vow?" Jack asked, looking at the president with a frown across his face.

"I would never…if what your saying is true I would never condone such acts…but what happens when our whole defence initiative falls apart, there's no one left with enough super human experience the public will turn to"

"Your wrong about that sir, I know someone who can get far better results than Osborn, alls you have to do is give him command of our troops, let him temporarily restore S.H.I.E.L.D. so that we can combat this threat, I'm not asking for a pardon, I'm just begging you sir not to let Osborn do what he pleases" Bucky explained.

"Are you really asking me to put Nick Fury back in charge of our defence?" The President asked.

The man that walked out of the shadows next caused the president to frown.

"Yes Mr President, we're all asking you to put me back in charge, it's about time we started doing things the right way" Nick Fury said.

Across America, Fury's Secret Warriors were facing the invaders. Yo-Yo ran messages from outpost to outpost while Quake decimated ground troops with her abilities. At Avengers mansion, the team was already discussing a plan, but Sieg couldn't seem to focus. He tried to listen, but for a moment it felt like he was deaf. Then he heard a voice a faint voice that told him what he needed to do.

"I'm sorry guys, but I need to go…there's something I need to do" Sieg said solemnly.

* * *

Skaar threw Slade across Stamford, as the X-men began to pile on top of him, Slade shifted into his fully armoured form. With a yell he threw the X-men off of him. Flying into the air, Slade lowered his head; somehow he needed to figure out what he needed to do in order to prevent this future from happening. Then his eyes drifted to his left, and then his right. Either side of him were two Kree's dressed in Captain Marvel uniforms. It seemed that Stamford was about to get more chaotic.

Next Chapter 16: The Next Generation

* * *

Hope everyone liked the chapter, and before people judge yes I do know the presidents name i just didnt know whether it would be against the rules to use his name, anyway tell me what you thought of the chapter.

As I said in the preview, the next generation will shine!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 16: The Next Generation

Michael Van Patrick thanked god that Amadeus Cho was here. The boy was a genius, either the next Tony Stark or Reed Richards in terms of intelligence. He stood over the makeshift briefing tables they had made, telling them of the plan he had thought up.

"Okay, we know what the prison frigates look like so our mission is to break into those ones and bust out the prisoners, civilians come first so we get them out before we try rescuing any other heroes, Nico you'll be essential to this plan, I've got some perfect phrases for your staff" Amadeus explained.

"Hey wait just one damn minute buddy, what makes you think we're actually going to be going on this suicide run?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, for all we know the Initiative could already have a plan to get those guys out, we'd only be getting in the way" Nico said.

"Guys, those people on those prison ships, for all we know they could be planning to kill them" Jake said.

"Genocide!" Xavin growled.

"Look Xavin, we've got problems of our own to deal with, we appreciate the help you gave us Cho but we aren't super heroes, we aren't cut out to deal with something this big, leave it to the adults" Nico explained.

Cap suddenly slapped Nico across the face, knocking her to the ground. He removed the cowl, looking down at Nico and at Chase with a glare across his face.

"Adults…Adults…. THAT'S ALWAYS YOUR EXCUSE ISNT IT! ITS ALWAYS THE ADULTS WHO HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! NEVER US IS IT!! YOUR SIXTEEN NICO AND YET YOUR AS FAR FROM BECOMING AN ADULT AS YOU CAN GET!!!" MVP yelled. "Do you think the invaders are going to care whether you're a kid or not…2 Million…2 million civilians have been killed by the invaders, there was no prejudice about it, they just randomly picked a few people and executed them…so they could show us how serious they really are, I'm nineteen (well technically three) and I wont live to see 21, none of us will if we don't do our part in this war…age has nothing to do with our power, if we can do something then we do it"

"Oooh the big speech!" Chase muttered.

None other than Karolina suddenly punched Chase across the face. Xavin supported her/his lover as she glared at Chase and Nico.

"Some of us can speak for ourselves, I'm going to help…Alex and Gert would be ashamed of both of you" Karolina said.

"Everyone listen to me NOW!!" MVP yelled, slamming his shield into the table. "I know your all scared, I'm terrified, I'm terrified because I know that in the long run I cant do a damn thing against these aliens, but that isn't going to stop me from helping…I've read the file on you kids, all the daughters and sons of the Pride, the villains who ruled LA with an Iron fist, and yet when you took them down you helped out in LA, you did nothing during Civil War except save your own and you defended yourselves during the Skrull invasion…but now you have the chance to do things truly heroic and you say no….god, that's just so wrong! So go ahead, stay here if you want…you can all burn in hell for all I care"

Amadeus coughed to catch the team's attention.

"Anyway, I was thinking, Miss Collins has got those nifty pheromones, the Scarlet Spider's a hacker, I've got some gamma tech plus I've managed to repair Victor and I picked up Chase's Fisticuffs"

"Fistigons!" Chase corrected, grudgingly sitting alongside the others.

"Xavin's got the powers of the Invisible woman, that already gives us access to a way to transport prisoners and then there's good old Cap here, the guy whose gonna lead us into battle!" Amadeus said with a smile.

"Sorry Cho, but I'm not cut out for leadership, I bought you guys here but I'm leaving the leadership stuff to someone whose had real experience" Cap said. "Sophia Montega, you led the New Mutants right?"

"Yeah I did but you cant possibly be…I don't even have any experience with the New Warriors" Sophia explained.

"Yes, but you look out for the best interests of the team, Amadeus is the strategist and I'm just a soldier, point me in the right direction and I'll fight"

"I vouch for her too, she's a good leader" Laurie said and Sophia smiled at her friends encouragement.

"Not to be the cynic here but won't we be going into space?" Patrick asked.

"Yep, that's why I asked Mr Banner to make these" Amadeus said, taking out a set of green pills.

"What do they do?" Chase asked.

"The effects last for an hour, which is why we need to be extra quick" Amadeus said as Sophia and Laurie ate the pills.

Suddenly, the two girls screamed at one another as their skin changed to a green colour.

"They temporarily grant us the Hulk's unique physiology, enabling us to hold our breath for long periods of time in outer space, our Quinjett has space vessel capabilities and some of us can create force fields" Amadeus explained as he swallowed one of the pills.

"All right, who's coming and who isn't?" Michael asked, glaring at the Runaways.

"I'll come!" Karolina said.

"Wherever my love goes I go too" Xavin said.

"I'll come, but only because those people there need help" Nico grudgingly said, rubbing her bruised cheek.

Victor walked into the room, moving his wrist around.

"So what are we waiting for?" He asked.

MVP nodded his head as he slipped on his cowl. Laurie, Sophia, Amadeus, Patrick, Xavin, Karolina, Nico, Hulkling, Trance, Victor and Captain America got onto the Quinn jet. Amadeus flew the Quinjett into the clouds and directly into space.

"Okay Hope, first we're going to needs some Intel, that'll be your job" Sophia said.

Hope nodded her head before closing her eyes. Her body fell into Patrick's arms as her astral form flew out of the jet. She flew around space, looking for the prison frigates that Amadeus had described to her. Finding the ships was easy, but sneaking around the ships was difficult. The civilians were bunched together in crowds; some were being squashed against the door. But the ships that housed members of the Nova Corps were smaller ships, with their prisoners bound by barriers. Hope took notice of one Nova Corps member, a grey haired, grey skinned teenage looking alien smacking his fists into his prison.

'He's pretty cute' Hope thought, then shook her head and focused on the task at hand.

She noticed that the F2 prison ship containing the seven Nova Corp members wasn't as heavily guarded as the other ships. So she decided that now was the time to act. Phasing through into the frigates bridge, Trance blasted the two pilots in the neck. The six guards turned their attention to Trance, who flew in between each one, throwing them into the wall with her force blasts. The rescue team tapped their feet against the floor as Trance woke up.

"The Ships F-6, F-13, F-15 and F-3 contain the people taken from Arabia, Africa, Tokyo, Paris, the Sussex region of England and Texas while another ship has a certain cutie that could help us" Hope sighed.

Patrick and Victor both looked at one another before shrugging their shoulders. The girls simple shook their heads. Amadeus widened his eyes as one of the prison ships blew up. Seven different aliens dressed in the blue and gold colours of the Nova Corps flew forth from the flames.

"ALL RIGHT GUYS WE NEED TO BUY THOSE AVENGERS AS MUCH TIME AS WE CANT! LET'S KICK ASS!!!" The Grey haired alien yelled as the Corp members flew into battle.

"All right, my orders are simple, follow Amadeus's plan" Sophia said and Laurie smirked, remembering the times she had told the New Mutants to follow Prodigy.

Amadeus smirked as he put on Scott Lang's Ant man helmet. Earlier he had thousands of ants sneak into one of the prison frigates. Crawling out of their hiding places; the ants began to slowly dismantle the guards weaponry as well as the doors of the prison cells. Xavin opened the airlock and jumped out of the ship with Karolina and Captain America at his side as they flew towards the F-13 frigate. Cap slammed his shield into the airlock door, forcing it open with Xavin's help. In F-6, the prisoners had already broken through the door Amadeus's ants had dismantled and overcame their guards. Suddenly a voice spoke out on the intercom.

"Hello everyone, this is Amadeus Cho speaking, please all move to the back of the ship, we are about to break it in half…please don't panic either" Amadeus explained.

Meanwhile, on F-13, Cap punched and kicked his way through Karabai's grunts as Xavin smashed the cell door open. Outside, Karolina engulfed the approaching alien fighters in her shining rainbow energy. Cap slammed his shield into the head of one more alien and turned to Xavin.

"Use your force field like Cho said" He said, they were all wearing ear pieces and masks over their faces that acted as radios.

Xavin nodded his head and focused on the prisoners. Grinding his teeth together and closing his eyes, Xavin surrounded thousands of prisoners in an invisible barrier. And tore the ceiling open as he flew them out of the ship.

"Karolina, guide me to the planet" Xavin said.

Karolina flew to Xavin's side and whispered instructions and encouragement into his ear. Cap grabbed the piloting sticks of the frigate and turned it in the direction of one of the approaching warships. Jumping off the frigate, Cap was picked up by Sophia, who was using a jetpack to fly across space.

'These pills Banner made were really good, I cant believe we're actually winning' Sophia thought.

"F-7 is the frigate that's housing the Young Avengers and some other heroes" Trance said to Amadeus.

"Good, Sophia, throw Cap in that direction"

The Nova Corp members shot down one fighter after another. One of the members, a bulky alien with jaws and eyes like a T-rex landed on the bridge of one of the battleships. He slammed his fist into the glass of the bridge and fired an energy blast that disintegrated the pilots and CIC staff.

"DON'T LET ANYONE THROUGH UNDERSTAND!!!" The Grey skinned alien yelled.

"You got it Xander!" An insectoid alien said as he shot down another space cruiser.

Battle raged in space and on the surface of the planet. Surge ran across the world, the bombs she carried blew up every base she ran into. Army officers saluted her as she ran past them, running into a battle between Young X-men and Alien grunts. Indra knocked two grunts to the ground, then punched another in the chest. Rockslide launched his fists into two grunts, while Mercury slashed three more that tried attacking him from behind. X-23 roared, hacking aliens to pieces with her claws. The bullets they fired were disintegrated as they touched Loa's skin; her tattoo's glowing as she used the techniques Wolverine taught her to disarm her attackers.

* * *

In Paris, the Great Lake Avengers and Prime fought against the invaders. Gravity crashed an alien warship with his gravity powers, also using them to protect the nearby civilians. Mr Immortal and the other Great Lake Avengers helped the civilians onto Army transports while Squirrel Girl ordered an army of squirrels to attack the insect aliens. Prime banged his fists against one of the warships, trying to push it down with all his strength. Suddenly a bolt of lighting blew a hole through the ship. Prime looked up and smiled as Thor Girl flew down towards the ship.

"My lord has trusted me with protecting Midgard, if you continue your attack you will feel a warriors might, FOR THOR! FOR ASGARD!!!!" She roared as she slammed her hammer into the ships side.

Across the world, Gentle led Wakandan troops into battle to retake their homeland. He grew as big as he could, towering over the soldiers and throwing them across the city.

"FOR KING T'CHALLA! FOR OUR FUTURE!!!" Gentle roared, shaking the very ground with every step he took.

The young mutant fought with everything he had, roaring like a panther. His strength and courage inspired the other Wakandan warriors to follow him and Shuri into battle. They weren't the only ones fighting, back in America Hammer Agents began to attack the mansion. Anole jumped at the agents, knocking one off his hover bike and pulling another off with his tongue. He jumped off the bike and ran into the ruins, leaning against a wall and changing his skin colour to blend into the wall. The agents walked past him and ran into the main meeting room. Anole attacked them from behind while Patriot attacked from the front.

"COME ON SUCKERS!!" Chase yelled, using the blasters on his Fistigon boots to shoot down incoming alien fighters.

He also used his flame generating Fistigon to draw the hammer agents back into the bushes that Klara created. She tied the agents up with the vines, also using them to clog up their guns.

"Could you guys keep it down…Molly's trying to sleep" Jake said.

"Oh shut up Olsen!" Stature said, knocking several agents back in her giant form.

Patriot slammed his shield into another agent, and used a pipe he took off the wall to bash another across the head. Across the city, hundreds of alien invaders began to fly away as a blonde haired boy walked through the ruins. His eyes were glowing as he showed them all their deepest fears. Alexander might have lost Fury and his father, but he could still put his powers to use. Similarly, Trauma assisted the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they defended the church they stayed in. He changed into the form of the Sentry and then the Hulk, drawing them away with pure fear.

"That'll show them!" Terrance said darkly as he returned to normal.

Elsewhere, in the skies, Noh-Varr flew at the alien ships. But he wasn't wearing his green and white uniform; instead he now wore the colours and costume of Captain Marvel.

"FOR MAR-VELL!!!" He yelled, banging the Negabands together and creating a flash that blinding the [pilots.

He fired blasts of energy and crashed his fists through the enemy fighters. Like Captain Mar-Vell, or at least the Skrull before him he flew through enemy ships, disregarding any harm it did to his body. Flying elite guards began to surround him, shooting him with energy beams whilst others attacked him with their swords. Hulkling suddenly flew through the clouds, punching two of them back. Wearing his fathers symbol on his chest, Hulkling fought back to back with the New Captain Marvel.

"You are his son correct?" Noh-Varr asked.

"Yeah, now lets keep fighting, I be pissed off with you later" Hulkling said as the two of them flew to battle.

More and more elite guards began to surround them, until energy blasts flew into the guards chests. Hulkling looked down and smiled as he saw Skrulls firing blasters from the building rooftops.

"PROTECT THE PRINCE! DRIVE THE INVADERS OFF OUR HOME!!!" Skarvis yelled, flying alongside several Skrull soldiers.

The Skrulls had decided to fight, while the children stayed at the safe house with Mary Jane and Aunt May. Hulkling and Noh-Varr flew at the front, leading an increasing number of Skrulls into battle. They flew across the world to aid their prince and even their sworn enemy.

In space, Sophia cut one of the frigate doors open, using her blasters to incapacitate the guards as Nico ran to the cell door. The young witch opened the prison cell and aimed her staff at the prisoners.

"**Time to go home!" **She said, teleporting the prisoners to their home countries.

Inside one of the other frigates, Cap slammed his shield into the faces of some of the guards. Then he threw it, knocking the guards back as it flew through the corridors. The shield returned to Cap's arm, he simply stared at the shield, mystified at what it had done before getting back to work. He ran into the prison cell, seeing the rest of the Young Avengers chained to the wall with heroes that included Druid, Prodigy, Proton, Rage and much to MVP's shock two Ghost Riders. Victor tore one of the prison frigates in half, using his magnetic abilities to convert the rest of the ship into a pod that safely floated the prisoners towards the planet.

"Amadeus, I've got some new recruits here, have we finished with the other prisoners?" Cap asked.

"Just checking on Scarlet Spider now, how are things with you Pat?" Amadeus asked the clone.

"Laurie's managed to get the pilot of our prison ship to fly us back to earth and put all the prisoners back where they belong" Pat explained.

"How did she do that?" Hope asked.

"She said very nicely that if he did as she told him then he could….well lets just say that lust pheromones are a powerful thing"

"How are the others Cho?" Sophia asked, unconscious guards around her as she and Nico began to fly a prison frigate back down to the Earth.

"I've just got word from Karolina, Xavin managed to get the prisoners of their ship to Genosha, she's flying him back to New York now, I'll send a message to the Navy and have them pick the civilians up…so what now Cap, your our moral compass!" Amadeus explained.

"He's right, you're the one who should decide what we do next" Sophia said.

MVP freed the super human prisoners and looked at his shield for a moment. Then he raised his head, determination in his eyes.

"We go to Camp Hammond!"

* * *

Celeste and Pixie stood before Cyclops and Jean, telling them everything that had happened with Osborn and Sieg. Elixir was healing some people that had been bought in by Magik, he suddenly jumped up in shock as Cyclops yelled out.

"DAMN HER! SHE FLEW TO CAMP HAMMOND A MINUTE AGO!!!"

"We should have kept her here, I should have known she was hiding something she's been in her diamond form since we got back" Jean said.

"Pixie, stay here and tell my brother to take over, Jean, get Hank and Bobby, we'll pick up Warren on our way to Camp Hammond" Cyclops said.

"I'm going with you too, Sieg must be going there as well, in fact I can sense a load of thoughts and feelings being felt at Stamford, something tells me that I have to be there" Celeste explained.

"Yeah right, after everything you've done to Sieg I'm surprised he even trusts you" Pixie growled.

"He doesn't trust me…I just know that I have to be in Stamford"

"Yeah we could bury you and Frost there!"

"ENOUGH!!!" Cyclops yelled, his visor flashing. "Pixie, your to work with Havok, Celeste, you need to see Forge, he's working one a temporary replacement for Cerebra so that you can coordinate our missions across the world, these are the orders I have given you and I expect you to obey them, have I made myself clear girls?"

Celeste and Pixie both looked grudgingly at one another before nodding their heads at Cyclops. Jean was just about to walk to where Bobby was getting healed until she sensed something. The thoughts she sensed where strange, it was as if someone was losing their intelligence. Suddenly, Iron Man flew out of the clouds, landing inches from Jean and Scott.

"X-men…need, Elixir!" Tony said as he lifted off his helmet.

Jean and Scott widened their eyes as Stark fell to his knees. Saliva was hanging off his mouth and his eyes were blood shot. Then Jean realised what was happening, Tony Stark's mind was gradually and slowly shutting down. Elixir ran past the other X-men, gasping as he saw Stark's condition.

"He's got some internal wounds, but I don't know whether I can heal both them and the brain damage" Josh said.

"His armours already acting as his heart, just heal his brain and quickly!" Cyclops said.

Elixir grabbed Tony's head and began to focus. His hands shined as Tony's eyes went blank. When he let go, Tony fell to the floor; the X-men crowded round Stark, whispering amongst themselves.

"Oh god…I've failed" Josh said, lowering his head.

"OF course you haven't failed you idiot, after all your part of my plan, my plans never fail!"

The other X-men widened their eyes as Tony Stark got up off the floor. His mind was as good as new and already filling with plans to help him out of his current predicament. Proudly he walked into the middle of the crowd of X-men, looking at each one, they were all people he could use.

"All right X-men, pardon the hurry but I'm going to need your help, first I need a hammer and some other tools, some slabs of metal and a shit load of weapons, time for us to get to work!" Tony said as he flashed a grin.

It was time for Iron Man to strike back!

Next Chapter 17: A Knights last stand!

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next we turn to the older generation, more specifically Tony Stark


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 17: A knights last stand

Scott was quite frankly astonished by how quickly the X-men had taken to following Stark's order. The man removed his gloves and boots and was already drawing up schematics that Forge could help him with.

"Any Metallic alloy will do, I'll need goggles, a smouldering iron and any weapons you can find" Stark explained, scribbling notes and adding parts to his blue print.

"We found some guns left over from the army" Bling said, carrying a bundle of M-16 and AK's in her hands.

"Get a pile going!" Forge said.

Pixie and Loa blinked in confusion as Colossus carried whole tanks and jets into the yard Tony was working in. The genius began using the iron and hammers that Forge had given him to heat the metal he had been given. He banged the hammer on a single piece of metal, cutting holes into it and bending it into a mask. Holding the mask in front of his face, Tony smiled, a perfect Iron Man mask. Hank, Forge and Tony worked on other pieces of armour, pouring Magma that Amara had made into a humanoid shape. Brand was using her own powers to burn the words "Stark enterprises" onto a chest plate.

"Working hard I see" Warren said to Brand, lifting a chunk of metal onto his shoulder.

"I'm busy admiring the view" Brand said, looking at the shirtless Hank work.

Tony sat at a desk, putting various rings onto a small cylinder shape. It would be the vital part to powering his armour.

"What is that thing?" Surge asked.

"It's going to be a miniature arc generator, it's what's going to power the new armour as well as my pace maker, this'll keep my heart running for as long as I need it to, with your help of course" Tony explained.

Noriko nodded her head and started to absorb energy from nearby streetlights. Tony added the final touches to the arc generator then began to focus his attention on the pieces of the new armour. He took off his old chest plate, while Elixir kept his heart pumping with his powers. Hank and Forge put on the new red chest plate and inserted the fully charged Arc generator.

"Lesson time children, inside the armour are little wires that'll link to the gauntlets and the boots, I trust you removed the flight stabilisers comrade Rasputin!"

"Yes Stark I did!" Piotr grunted.

Tony walked over to the boots, the generator on his chest plate shining. He manually added the miniature rockets to inside of the boots, and then walked towards the weapons stash.

"Good job on painting ladies!" Tony said as he passed Bling and Loa, both with spray cans in their hands painting the arms and legs of Stark's armour. "Don't forget to add a little hotrod red!"

"We've got an M61 Vulcan!" Domino began. "FIM-92 Stinger, Phalanx CIWS and the M85 machine gun, of course we cut up the barrels of the bigger guns, scaled them down like you said…. which ones do you want to take?"

"All of them!" Tony smirked.

The genius billionaire spread his arms out, allowing Rogue and Moonstar to slip on the gloves with the individual pieces of armour connected to them. Wires on the chest plate connected to the arm armour. Tony flexed his muscles, the armour allowed free movement for his arms and legs. Slipping on the boots, Tony walked towards the table with the weapons on them. Hank attached the rocket launcher to the left gauntlet while Scott attached the machine gun to the right one. Bling and Loa had painted Tony's old gauntlets red and helped him as he put the heavier gauntlets on. His arc generator dispersed power into the armour, increasing his strength as he lifted the heavy guns like they were nothing. Forge attached the Vulcan to the right shoulder and Tony put the helmet on. Then he reached for the gold mask that would complete the look.

"Thank you for all your help, I'm sorry I took up your time…good luck to you all" Tony said before putting on the mask.

Jean then added the final touch to the armour, a shield on the right arm. She stepped back, allowing Stark to activate the thrusters on his boots and back. Using his repulsors as flight stabilisers, Tony flew into the air. The goggles kept the air out of his eyes as he flew at super sonic speeds.

'Low tech, but it'll get the job done' Tony thought as he flew to his target.

Iron Man wasn't the only one preparing for battle; Thor led an army of Asgardian warriors with Sif and Valkyrie at his side. They marched across fields towards the armies of Denatsu. His elite soldiers clashed with the warriors. Spear pierced flesh and arrows flew through the air. Denatsu easily threw aside any warrior that tried to attack him. Thor flew through the hordes of invaders, swinging his hammer at Denatsu. The General bought his hand up absorbing the brunt of the hammer with an energy shield. He then fired a blast at Thor, who bought his arm up to block it. With an energized punch, Denatsu threw Thor into the air.

"CHARGE!!!" Balder yelled, drawing his sword as he and the Asgardian cavalry ran into hordes of aliens.

Valkyrie flew atop her winged horse, beheading several alien soldiers. Beside her was Sif, firing arrows into the heads and hearts of Denatsu's elite warriors. The elites drew their swords and jumped towards the two women. But lightning bolts slammed into their chests, knocking them back towards the ground. Beta Ray Bill flew out of the clouds, smashing his hammer into the ground. Denatsu flew at Thor, charging electrical energy in his hands. The two godlike beings clashed, releasing a shockwave that knocked every soldier to the ground. Thor smacked his hammer into Denatsu's face, cracking his helmet. But Denatsu retaliated with a punch that knocked off Thor's helmet. The elite general then created an energy blade, slashing Thor across the chest.

"Ha, God my foot!" Denatsu muttered as blood leaked from Thor's wound.

"We are powerful, but not unstoppable, like humans death comes to us all, but like humans our civilisation survives…"

"Don't care!" Denatsu said, blasting Thor in the chest.

The God of Thunder was thrown to the ground, his chest plate cracking and blood gushing from his mouth. Balder and Sif looked towards Thor in shock. Denatsu floated over Thor, laughing.

"It seems that death has come to you a lot earlier than you expected" He said.

* * *

Gijutsu marched through the streets of Tokyo, easily killing any Hand Ninja that tried to attack him. He huffed as Silver Samurai ran towards him. The mutant's blade shined as he swung it at Gijutsu. But the elite general merely sidestepped the slash and plunged his sword into Harada's chest. Pulling the blade out, Gijutsu kicked the samurai's body to the floor.

"Is there no one here that can provide me with a descent challenge?" He wondered.

Suddenly a flurry of Shuriken flew towards him. Gijutsu span his sword round, deflecting the projectiles. Looking up at where the stars came from, Gijutsu raised his eyebrow slightly. Elektra stood on a pile of alien bodies, her Sai's on her waist and a katana on her back.

"I see the women of this planet attempt to be warriors" Gijutsu said.

Elektra frowned at the mans response before jumping off the pile. She threw seven Shuriken at Gijutsu, who either dodged them or batted them away with his sword. Drawing her own sword, Elektra ran at Gijutsu. Both ran past one another, clashing their blades together. A cut ran across Elektra's shoulder, while Gijutsu put his hand to his cheek.

"Perhaps I've underestimated you woman, no one has ever made me bleed" Gijutsu said, licking the blood on his hand. "But let me assure you, the moment you cut me was the moment you lost" He rubbed the blood across his face and smiled.

Gijutsu suddenly ran at Elektra, crashing his blade into her sword. The Katana cracked from the force of the blade, sending Elektra skidding across the ground. Elektra jumped, kicking Gijutsu across the face, then she swung her blade downwards. Gijutsu jumped back, spinning his sword into a reverse grip and swinging it at Elektra. She ducked underneath the blade, which cut off a few strands of her hair. Kicking her legs at Gijutsu, Elektra pushed the warrior back, thrusting her sword at him. But Gijutsu blocked the thrusts with his sword, throwing a punch at Elektra. She took the punch, using it as her chance Elektra lodged her Katana into Gijutsu's shoulder. Suddenly, Gijutsu slammed his palm into Elektra's chest, sending her flying into the hood of a car. Gijutsu pulled the blade off of his shoulder and shattered it with a single squeeze.

"Well done woman, you are truly the most skilled fighter I have ever faced on this planet, maybe you can be the one to finally complete my tests" Gijutsu explained as he stabbed his sword into the ground.

Elektra drew her Sai's and stood ready as Gijutsu created a pair of Naginata's.

* * *

In LA, Gigas stomped through the streets, crushing Army tanks with his feet and jet fighters with his hands. US Agent readied his gatling gun and fired at Gigas's heel. The General laughed as the bullets bounced off of his skin.

"LITTLE INSECTS SHOULD KNOW THEIR PLACE! DID YOU REALLY THINK THE SAME METHOD OF DEFEATING ME WOULD WORK TWICE!!!!" Gigas roared.

Gigas suddenly screamed, forcing the soldiers to put their hands to their ears. His very voice shattered eardrums and glass. He stopped and curiously looked to the road. Standing in his way was Atlas, Tom Foster and the Eric O'Grady Antman. They grew to their giant sizes and surrounded the general.

"All right buddy, prepare to get your ass kicked!" Eric said cockily.

The general merely laughed and increased his size.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE HE SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SUPPORT HIS OWN WEIGHT AT THAT SIZE!!!" Tom yelled.

"I AM A GENERAL OF KARABAI! WE CAN MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE!!!" Gigas laughed as he towered over the giant men.

"Okay, I'm getting out of here!" Eric yelped as he begun to shrink.

"YOU COWARD!!!" Atlas yelled as he jumped on Gigas's back.

Gigas grabbed Atlas's hair, throwing him over his shoulder and straight into a pile of buildings. The very ground shook, causing the soldiers to stumble as the giants clashed. Tom tried to punch Gigas, but the general easily blocked the punch, kneeing Tom in the chest and punching the young mans knees. The nephew of Bill Foster collapsed, giving Gigas the perfect opportunity to grab him and throw him into Atlas.

"I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" Gigas yelled.

US Agent ran across the battlefield, knowing that by the end of the day LA would be completely destroyed.

"Doctor Pym, attacking his knee joints is ineffective, cant you think of anything else?" John asked, sliding underneath a bus as alien soldiers began shooting at him.

Hank put a hand to his chin, hiding under cover with Jocasta. Hercules ran into the enemy troops, throwing them across the battlefield.

"This is hopeless!" A young soldier said.

"Wait…I've got an idea" Hank said.

Suddenly, Jocasta fired a blast from her hand, beheading a grunt sniper.

"Please continue Doctor Pym" She said.

"We cant beat him on the outside, so we beat him on the inside…GENERAL ROSS CLEAR ALL YOUR MEN OUT OF THE AREA NOW!!!!" Hank yelled.

"YOU HEARD THE MAN SOLDIERS PULL BACK NOW!!!!" General Thunderbolt Ross yelled through the radio channels.

"Please explain your plan to me Doctor Pym" Jocasta said.

Hank's expression darkened as he looked up at Gigas.

"I'm going to fly into Gigas's mouth and set off a bomb in his heart!"

* * *

The Iron patriot, his X-men and remaining Avengers were currently on their way to Stamford. A large Hammer airship was behind them, with Miss Hand and countless other agents inside.

"Director Osborn, we have an object approaching us from the North!" Miss Hand said through the radio.

"Thank you for the warning Miss Hand, now let us…" But Norman didn't finish his words as a missile flew into Venom's hover bike, knocking him out of the sky.

Iron Patriot looked to the North and widened his eyes as Iron Man approached them at maximum speed.

"ALL UNITS OPEN FIRE!!" Norman yelled.

The ship fired its CIW's, but Tony held out his shield, blocking the shots as he flew straight towards Osborn. Like a rocket, Tony crashed into Osborn, bruising his chest and flying them both towards the highway below. The two armoured men rolled across the floor. Norman quickly jumped to his feet, firing his repulsors at Tony. Iron Man flew upwards, dodging the blasts and firing the stingers missile at Osborn. Norman easily intercepted the missile with his smaller wrist rocket, countering with a repulsor blast to Tony's chest. Tony rolled across the floor, igniting his rockets and flying over the ground. He fired his own repulsors; intercepting Norman's own blasts while firing his Gatling guns. The bullets scratched Norman's armour, forcing him backwards.

"HOW DID YOU THINK THIS WOULD END STARK!!" Osborn yelled as Mimic and Moonstone flew at Iron Man.

"Oh I've got a pretty good idea of how it'll end!" Tony smirked, blocking punch from Mimic.

Mimic then threw another punch, this time freezing Tony's shield. With his next punch he shattered the shield and fired an optic blast into Tony's chest. Iron Man countered with a Uni beam to Mimic's head, dazzling his vision. Tony then slammed his fist into Mimic's face, knocking him backwards. Moonstone and Weapon Omega fired at Iron Man, who rolled to the left to dodge their blasts.

"Come on fellas and whore, follow me!" Iron Man taunted.

"Whore!" Karla growled.

The Dark Avengers and X-men flew after Iron Man. Ares fired his machine gun, hitting Iron Man's shoulder armour. Tony cursed as the bullets cut off the shoulder guard. He swung around, firing his Gatling guns Tony cut apart Ares's gun and scratched Norman's helmet.

"I want Stark dead!" Norman growled.

"Osborn, we're approaching Stamford" Miss Hand said.

"Good…that's means he'll die where it all began!" Norman laughed as he flew ahead of the Avengers. "Camp Hammond, I want all heroes prepped for battle, are Miss Frost and the Sentry there?" Norman asked.

"Yes Osborn, they're both here, and so are the rest of my gang" The Hood said as he loaded a pistol.

Emma Frost stood amongst the forces at Camp Hammond, dressed in a new Black outfit. In the next few days she'd put her days as an old X-woman behind her. Miles away, the original X-men were already on their way to Hammond. Back with the Dark Avengers, Osborn fired a repulsor blast at Iron Man's back, destroying his rockets. Tony fell and rolled across the dirt, rolling to his feet and firing his gatling gun at the Avengers. Moonstone fired a blast that burned the barrel of Tony's shoulder gun. Ares and Dark Beast jumped off of their bikes, slashing at Tony with claw and sword. Daken, Venom and Mystique also attacked Tony.

"Your surrounded "bub"" Daken laughed.

"Listen kid, I know how much you want to be like daddy, but your as far as you can get from even comparing to Logan all right" Tony said.

Daken roared and slashed Tony across the side. Tony coughed as the claws ripped off some of his armour and skin. Clutching his side for only a moment, Tony fired his gatling gun point blank into Daken's face, ripping off his mask. Then he punched the boy across the head and tripped Dark Beast up with a kick to his legs.

"Seriously Stark I thought you were smarted than this" Norman cackled, failing to notice the people of Stamford gathering around them.

Tony punched Ares in the face, then igniting his rockets, burning Venom. Gargan screamed as he rolled across the floor, his suit bubbling from the fire. Tony then elbowed Mimic in the face and stepped back as Moonstone charged towards him. She fired two blasts, hitting the palms of Tony's hands. Iron Man yelled as the blast destroyed his blasters and burnt his hands. But inside the armour he had to smile, everything was going according to plan.

* * *

In Tokyo, Elektra back flipped to avoid a shower of spears thrown by Gijutsu. The general summoned pole axes and lances, thrusting and slashing at the ninja. But Elektra managed to jump over the spears and kicked Gijutsu across the head.

"Excellent form, you are indeed born for combat woman" Gijutsu said, throwing the two giant weapons aside and drawing his Katana.

He cut Elektra across the cheek, but she countered by stabbing her Sai into his chest. Gijutsu struck Elektra with the palm of his hand; she slid her blade out of his chest and kicked his nose. Stepping back only slightly, Gijutsu summoned another katana and linked the two blades together. He jumped and span around, knocking Elektra backwards with every strike that she barely blocked.

"I was born and bred to be the perfect fighter, my lack of raw power is made up for with my knowledge on martial arts, but ever since arriving on your planet my mind has absorbed knowledge on countless forms of art, not only do I gain the skill, but also THE DISCIPLINE!!" Gijutsu yelled, kicking Elektra in the chest and sending her flying into a wall. "Your ways have intrigued me human, the meanings behind these martial forms, Karate, Aikido, Judo and especially the code of Bushido…I have finally found a planet where I can feel complete…Karabai was wise to choose this planet as his capital"

Elektra coughed as she got up off the floor. Holding her Sai's tightly, she looked at Gijutsu defiantly. He clapped his hands together, and then separated them, creating a two-pronged trident.

"Humankind is truly a race worth enslaving and you are truly one worth killing, tell me what is your name? What can I write on your tombstone?" Gijutsu asked.

But Elektra said nothing as she ran at Gijutsu. The general threw his trident at Elektra's head. Though she managed to block the spear with her Sai's, the blades still pricked her eyes. Blinded and battered by the general, Elektra still stood her ground. She listened to the drips of his blood and determined where he was. With one last valiant effort, she threw her Sai. Gijutsu tried to catch the blade, but widened his eyes as it slid through his hand. Elektra then ran forward and drove her other Sai into Gijutsu's chest. He grabbed her neck and lifted her above the floor.

"One last try, I commend you for that woman, "here sleeps a true warrior", that's what I'll write on your stone…if I were human I would be dead, but unfortunately for you my heart is protected by a thin layer of bone, if you had more strength you probably could have pierced that bone, unfortunately you don't…goodbye true warrior!"

He rammed a blade on his wrist through her chest. Laying her body out on the floor, Gijutsu bowed to Elektra as she slipped into deaths grasp once again. Giving Elektra back her Sai's, Gijutsu closed her eyes and put her hands over her chest.

'You are not the one to kill me, perhaps there is another like you who will succeed' Gijutsu thought as he slowly walked away, bowing his head as the rain began to fall.

* * *

People were astonished, not only by Tony's determination, but also by the brutality of their supposed heroes. Norman punched Tony across the face, knocking off his helmet. Tony countered with a punch that tore off Norman's helmet. Then he kicked him in the chest and ignited his rockets, throwing the Iron patriot into Ares. Weapon Omega tried to shoot Tony in the head, but he fell to the floor, barely dodging the beam. Tony then fired his Uni-beam, hitting Pointer in the chest.

"This has been brewing for a long time" Venom giggled as he lifted Tony off the ground. "I'll enjoy eating you Stark!"

"How about you eat this!" Tony said, firing his wrist Gatling gun into Venom's mouth.

Rolling across the floor, Tony dodged a blast from Pointer. Then he blocked a punch thrown by Osborn. Daken slashed Tony across the back, licking the blood off as he prepared to strike again. Camera crews began to gather with the people as they witnessed this fight between True Avenger and Dark Avenger. Jameson and Robertson stared at the images they saw on their TV. May and Mary Jane also gasped as they saw Osborn brutally punch Tony across the face.

"You see what he's doing there President Obama?" Fury asked the president, pointing at the TV screen.

The President nodded his head, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes as Norman struck Tony again. Mystique loaded her pistol but stopped as she saw the people around her. She was supposed to be Xavier!

"Oh my god!" Red Nine said as he and other Hammond recruits watched the scene from Camp Hammond.

Bob Reynolds looked at the scene in shock, during their talks, Osborn always seemed as if he had wanted to help. He was supposed to be leader of the Avengers!

"Are we just going to stand back and watch him get beaten to death?" Trauma asked as he and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents watched the scene.

The agents turned to the church door as Jarvis, the real Jarvis walked into the church.

"This is all part of his plan" Jarvis said solemnly watching the scene-taking place.

"_Are you sure Master Stark?" Jarvis asked._

_They stood at a secure location in New York. Tony was wearing his new armour, while Jarvis was holding a red memory stick._

"_Inside there are the codes and passwords necessary to unlock all the Maria Stark foundation funds, so that the Avengers can be reformed the right way after this is over…also included are the coordinates of the Armoury weapon" Tony explained._

"_Very well sir, I will undertake this final task for you…I have many regrets sir, none of which has been serving you" Jarvis said._

"_I know Jarvis, thank you for everything, I'm sorry for everything I've done…but I'll never regret what I'm about to do" Tony said._

_With a heavy heart, Jarvis shook Tony's hand, perhaps for the last time._

* * *

Denatsu crossed his arms together, laughing at the very sight of the supposed "god of thunder". The other Asgardian warriors fought on, but Sif remained fixated on the fallen Thor.

"Its time for this battle to end!" Denatsu said as he gathered energy into his hand.

Suddenly, Thor grabbed his hammer and fired the Odin Force into Denatsu's chest. The beam tore through his armour, causing it to shatter completely. But a blue slug like creature flew out of the remains of the armour, crawling across the floor and taking shape into Denatsu's true form. Far away from the battlefield, the leader of the generals, General Meijin huffed. All of the generals apart from him and now had their armour shattered. Denatsu's true form was that off a blue haired man, bearing pale skin and stripe tattoos across his bare chest. His eyes glowed as he got up off the floor, energy materialising in his hand.

"Well done Thor…how about we finish this battle" Denatsu said.

Thor ripped off his chain mail and held his hammer in front of him.

"FOR MIDGARD!!!" He roared.

"FOR KARABAI!!!" Denatsu yelled as lighting rained down around them.

* * *

_Tony and Slade sat with one another in the base cafeteria. Both were alone, everyone else was on a mission._

"_Do you ever regret the path you have chosen?" Tony asked._

"_At times, when I fail I wonder whether I could have done something better…that and I am plagued by the thought of what I might truly be, what of you Stark?" Slade asked._

"_I do nothing but regret…the registration act, the alcohol, the armour itself…the friends that died because of me" Tony explained._

"_You believe you could have saved them?"_

"_Steve of course, and I was directly responsible for Happy Hogan"_

"_You mean you…"_

"_Broke the law and committed Euthanasia, of course, I might as well be locked up now"_

"_No you shouldn't" Slade said solemnly._

_Tony looked to Slade, who patted him on the shoulder._

"_Captain America's death was not your fault, while true you could have prevented it you weren't the one that planned it, you had no hand in it…as for Hogan, you did the right thing" Slade said._

"_But I broke the law!"_

"_And sometimes Mr Stark the law must be broken if it means a life is saved…sometimes, the illegal thing, the choice which is hardest to make is the right thing, Steve Rogers made the right choice in opposing his own government, you made the right choice in the path you took, because it was the choice that was the hardest to make…remember that Tony, the hardest thing to do and the right thing to do are sometimes one and the same"_

"_Thank you Slade, and please call me Tony, thank you for believing in me" Tony said, offering Slade his hand._

"_The only way a hero can exist is if people believe in him, that's why you're a hero Tony…people still believe in you, its only a matter of awakening that belief" Slade said as he shook the mans hand._

That was what he was trying to accomplish. Not only would he show the world what Osborn truly was, but he would also restore peoples faith in the old ways. Taking another punch from Osborn, Tony fell to his knees and smiled as Osborn gripped the collar of his armour.

"What are you smiling about Stark?" Osborn asked, spitting in Tony's eyes.

The blood and saliva didn't stop him; Tony pushed Osborn away from him and ripped off his stinger missile launcher. He then proceeded to smack Dark Beast across the head, and then threw the launcher at Daken.

"Director Osborn I would seriously recommend…"

"SHUT UP MISS HAND!!!" Osborn yelled, throwing off his earpiece and punching Tony once again.

The force knocked out some of his teeth, sending his blood gushing across the floor. Norman held Tony by his throat, laughing as he punched him yet again.

"Now Stark, I think you've lived long enough" Norman said.

"I don't think the people think that" Tony chuckled.

Suddenly, a bottle slammed into the back of Osborn's head. The man turned around, widening his eyes as the people began to yell at him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU CRAZY BASTARD HE'S DONE!!!"

"YEAH GET OUT OF OUR STATE!!!"

"SHUT UP!! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP I'M AN AVENGER!!!!" Norman yelled as the people began to throw bricks and bottles at the Avengers.

"Maybe now's a good time to retreat" Moonstone said.

"Don't need to tell me twice" Gargan whimpered as he climbed onto the back of Ares's hover bike.

The other Avengers began their retreat leaving Osborn with the angry crowd at Stamford.

"I AM IN CHARGE OF THIS WORLDS DEFENCE! I AM THE AVENGERS LEADER! YOUR HERO SO GET LOST AND LET ME DO MY JOB!!! I'M A HERO FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!" Osborn screamed.

"NO!!!" Tony yelled.

He gathered his remaining strength and punched Osborn across the head. The Iron Patriot span backwards, widening his eyes as Tony ran at him.

"Your not an Avenger!" Tony growled as he punched Osborn again. "Your no hero! And you've never been a patriot!"

"Your wrong, the people loved me…they chose me over you, made toys and put on me on talk shows" Osborn said.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT BEING A HERO IS ABOUT!!!" Once again Tony slammed his fist into Osborn's face. "DO YOU THINK INTERVIEWS TOYS AND PAPERS MATTER? THEY DON'T!! IT ISNT ABOUT WHAT NAME YOU CHOOSE! OR WHAT COLOUR YOUR COSTUME IS!! OR HOW MANY SKRULLS AND ATLANTEANS YOU KILL!!!"

Tony grabbed the neck of Osborn's armour and kicked his shoulder. Much to Osborn's shock, Tony ripped off his chest plate, throwing it aside and glaring at him defiantly.

"IT'S ABOUT MAKING THE HARD CHOICES AND REGRETTING THEM WHEN YOU DO! IT'S ABOUT PROTECTING PEOPLE AND SAVING LIVES! RESTORING PEOPLES FAITH AND HOPE WITH SELFLESS ACTIONS!! THAT'S WHAT HEROISM IS!!!!" Tony yelled one final time as he punched Norman, knocking off his front teeth and sending him crashing to the ground.

Norman got off the floor and looked to the people. They were al cursing his name, all of his plans were falling apart. He flew into the air, flying as fast as he could towards Camp Hammond. Tony smiled as his vision blurred, the people began to crowd around him.

"Oh god, he's lost a lot of blood"

"Is anyone good with bandages?"

"Make way, we'll take care of him"

Tony peacefully closed his eyes, listening to his heartbeat. It got slower and slower with every second that passed. But he didn't regret his decision, alls that mattered as that he had done his part. Finally he could join all his friends. He saw a light and heard voices, but it wasn't the voices he was expecting to hear.

"All right we did it, he's coming to!"

Tony opened his eyes and shot upwards, gasping for air. Around him were real heroes, paramedics. He felt his chest; it had been stitched together and bandaged.

"Weird isn't it?" One of the medics asked.

"Yeah, can feel like your dead for a few minutes when you're really dead for two hours" Another explained.

"What happened, what did you guys do?" Tony asked.

"Actually it was this guys idea"

The people began to separate so that Tony could see who had saved his life. He gasped, for standing before him was Doctor Stephen Strange, no longer was he wearing a costume or cloak, but instead he wore a normal business suit.

"I can't operate, but I can still instruct" Strange said proudly.

"He suggested taking the Electromagnet out of your armour and connecting it to your heart, basically he suggested turning it into an ordinary pace maker" One of the medics explained.

Tony looked at Strange and nodded his head in thanks. Strange simply bowed before looking towards the direction of Camp Hammond. Both he and Tony widened their eyes as an explosion of energy consumed the Camp.

* * *

Two hours earlier, Norman landed in Camp Hammond. It was only a matter of time before the president revoked his status as the head of the Initiative. So he needed to complete his own preparations. The heroes were still under his chain of command and everyone he needed was here. Lily Hollister was standing on her glider, awaiting orders and the Hood's gang was eagerly anticipating the final battle.

"All right boys and girls, we've got plenty to do" Norman said, then he clutched his head.

No, he was in control! There was no Goblin; only he would call the shots. Suddenly, the gate to Camp Hammond flew open. Osborn glared as he looked towards the gate; there he was, Siegfried Wallace, standing alone and ready to take on a whole army.

Next Chapter 18: The past and future!

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next will be Slade, Thor, Hank and Bucky focuses along with plenty of flashbacks


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I dont own MArvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 18: The past and future

Slade flew across Stamford, clashing fist and energy blast with the two Marvels. Shifting his arm gauntlet into a shield, Slade blocked a beam attack, and then countered with a tentacle lash. Ms Marvel easily dodged the strike, and then flew at Slade. Her fist glowered as she punched his shield. Slade span around, throwing his black shield and summoning his scythe. Slamming his blade into Captain Marvel's armbands, Slade threw the Kree warrior into Ms Marvel.

"This is the day Stamford receives even more damage from the battles of super humans, this is the day our present becomes a reality!" Captain Marvel said, slamming his bands together.

The flash blinded Slade, Ms Marvel then flew in and punched Slade across the head. He flew into the ground, skidding across the road; he had reached an industrial region. The ground shook and Slade turned to see Skaar, Ruby and a Sorceress supreme. Spinning around, he threw his scythe at them. But Skaar drew his sword and shattered the scythe with a single strike. Slade ran at Skaar, his form shifting into the form of Iron Man's Hulk Buster armour. He punched the son of the Hulk across the head, and then threw him into the air. In a matter of seconds he changed back into his natural form and threw his shield into Skaar's back. The bulky creature yelled in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Your struggles are all worthless, see the results of your effort!" The Sorceress said, slamming her staff into the ground.

Pink ribbons suddenly shot out of the staff, wrapping around Slade's head. He tugged at the ribbons, yelling as visions were forced into his brain. Visions of battle, defeat and countless death and tragedy. While he was distracted, Ruby fired an optic blast into his chest, throwing him into the arms of War Machine and Rockslide.

"Though we may win the battle with the aliens the result will always be the same…alls we are doing is giving it a little push" Hope said as she walked towards Slade. "Our present, your future is inevitable, this is the worlds destiny"

* * *

In LA, Hank was already beginning his plan.

"All right, you guys don't need to put yourself in any serious danger, just keep him distracted so that I can get in there" Hank explained.

"Doctor Pym, this plan you have is extremely dangerous…we know nothing of Gigas's physiology and the explosion might kill you as well if you are unable to escape in the anointed time" Jocasta explained.

"Oh don't worry Jocasta, I've got something extra special planned" Hank said, putting on his goggles and looking up at Gigas.

While Atlas and Tom Foster grew, Hank shrank. The two giants marched towards Gigas.

"YOU PATHETIC HUMANS! WHOEVERS BIGGER ALWAYS WINS!!!!!" Gigas laughed.

"You forgot one thing Gigas, the bigger they are the harder they fall!" Atlas said as he slammed his fist into Gigas's jaw.

Tom then ran forward, driving his knee into Gigas's chest. The General was sent tumbling to the ground. Hank flew in between Atlas's legs and over Gigas's chest. He put his hand to his nose as Gigas breathed; his breath was the worse thing Hank had ever smelt in his life. But he needed to take this chance, so without any more thought he flew down Gigas's throat and into the unknown.

* * *

"_Hank…oh Hank…HANK!!!"_

_The feeling of a pillow getting thrown in his face disturbed Hank's very peaceful sleep. Throwing the pillow off, Hank looked up at his wife Janet Van Dyne-Pym._

"_You know there was a much better way to wake me up" Hank sighed._

"_I know, but we've got a meeting today and we can't get held up" Janet said, walking over to her wardrobe. "Now what should I wear today?" She asked._

_Hank walked over to Janet, rubbing her bare shoulders and kissing her neck. Then he shook his head at her wardrobe. The amount of clothes she had was ridiculous; then again that was one of her greatest qualities._

"_Come on baby not today, we really shouldn't be late!" Janet moaned as she rubbed the back of Hank's hair._

"_Did Steve mention what we'd be discussing yesterday?" Hank asked._

"_Something about a superhuman, the case came from Fury so we don't have a lot of details"_

"_I'll meet you there Jan, don't take too long" Hank whispered before kissing her cheek._

_Putting on his Goliath costume, Hank walked through the corridors of the Avengers mansion. Once he got to the meeting room he sighed. Thor, Iron Man and Cap were already there waiting for them. As Hank sat down, Cap crossed his arms._

"_She's just picking a costume, you know women!" Hank said sheepishly._

"_This is a very important case Hank, Nick Fury told me about it as well as showed me some evidence to support a theory of his" Cap explained._

"_What theory?" Janet asked as she flew into the room, landing on Hank's shoulder._

"_There have been reports of a young super human intervening during emergency incidents, photographers have barely caught glimpses of him" Steve explained._

"_He seems to be wearing some kind of armour" Iron Man said._

"_So what does Fury want us to do?" Hank asked._

"_Keep our eyes open, if we do find this man he could be ideal Avenger material"_

* * *

Thor sighed as he remembered those days. They were care free, easy to cope with. But then came complications, broken friendships, destroyed homes and disbanded families. Now in the present, Thor could at least smile, knowing that this was a war that would unite all heroes, be they god or mortal. The battlefield had been soaked with the blood of both Asgardian and Karabai's own soldiers. Thunder and lightning flashed in the sky and Sif, Balder, the warriors Three and members of the Valkyrie looked up as two masters of electricity clashed.

"PATHETIC HUMAN!!" Denatsu yelled, firing a blast into Thor's chest.

Quickly recovering, Thro fired another blast from his hammer, hitting Denatsu's shoulder. The lightning flew into Denatsu, changing his skin to a blue colour as his muscles expanded. Electricity crackled around him as he slammed his fist into Thor's cheek. Thor swung his hammer round, smacking Denatsu across the head. Both slammed their fists together, creating a shockwave that cracked the very ground.

"THIS BATTLE IS TRULY LIFE! GIVE ME MORE!!!!" Denatsu cackled, opening his arms.

Thor widened his eyes as the general drew the electricity into his chest. His muscles were rippling and the intensity of the energy in his eyes increased. He fired the beams from his eyes, hitting Thor in the chest. Then he grabbed the god by his throat. Thor punched Denatsu in the chin, and then grabbed his hair. They flew through the clouds, lightning flashing around them.

"Where are they going?" Sif asked.

"Trust in lord Thor, he has a plan!" Balder said.

Again and again they clashed, their power was greater than anyone ever thought possible. The people of Earth looked up in the sky as two masters of storms waged battle. Never before had the planet experienced a storm like the one that was brewing now.

* * *

There was a time in James Bucky Barnes life when seeing the president up close would have been something that excited him. But now he looked at an ordinary man faced with a great struggle. Inside his office were victims of Osborn's cruelty as well as intelligent men that had more experience with mutant and superhuman cases than anyone on the planet. He had seen the American people disown Osborn and still he hesitated. That was one thing Bucky missed about the Forties; during WW2 people always knew what had to be done.

"_MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!!"_

_Gun powder, blood, urine, the most common smells in the air. Gunshots, screaming, explosions, the most common sounds. The most common sights were death, tragedy and Heroism. War could bring out those feelings, and this was a great war, a war that would be remembered for eternity. Bucky ducked for cover, holding his Thompson close as German planes flew over him. A bomb dropped just feet away from him, the shockwave threw him backwards. All the common sounds were halted he actually couldn't hear anything. This temporary deafness was replaced by fear as a German plane flew towards him. Then he saw a red boot step into a puddle. Looking up, Bucky smiled as he saw the familiar wings on the back of a mans blue cowl._

"_MOVE SOLDIER!!!" Steve yelled as he threw his shield._

_Throwing Bucky over his shoulder, Steve ran to the left as his shield cut off the planes left wing. The plane then span around and crashed into the ground._

"_DON'T HESITATE BUCKY! WE'VE LOST TOO MANY MEN TODAY! WE CANT LOSE YOU!!!" Steve yelled._

"_I KNEW WHAT I WAS GETTING INTO STEVE! I'M THE ONE WHO SIGNED UP AFTER ALL!!!" Bucky yelled back._

_Steve grabbed his partner's collar, looking him in the eyes._

"_You are part of a generation that'll lead this world out of the darkness caused by this war, you must survive" Captain America said firmly, before jumping over the trench and into the battle._

_Despite the mans words, Bucky too made the risk and ran over the top. Just because he was part of the next generation didn't mean he should just leave the present generation to do all the wet work. Captain America fought with brilliance as a melee combatant, his shield and fists slammed into the faces of enemy soldiers. Bucky fired his Thompson; gunning down a group of Nazi's trying to attack Steve from behind._

"_Keep your eyes open old boy! After all it's your generation that'll win the war for us!!" Bucky smirked as he fought back to back with Cap._

Yes, those were indeed simpler though more tragic times. The President looked at the men before him and nodded his head.

"Very well, I will revoke Osborn's status as an Avenger, Fury, you are now in charge of the Initiative" He said.

"I am ready and honoured to take back the position of director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said, standing to attention and saluting the president.

Suddenly, screams echoed through the radio channels.

"Mr President, we have an intruder in the house sir, he's decimating our security forces, you need to get out immediately AAAAAAGH!!!!" The man screamed and the radio line went static.

"Colonel Fury, we need to get to that Chopper right now!" Bucky said.

Fury nodded his head and drew his pistol as the group walked out of the main office. Bucky cocked his rifle and aimed it into the corridor.

"Clear!"

"Move!" Fury commanded.

Xavier pushed Jack's wheelchair with the Fury behind them and the president Bucky in front. A helicopter was waiting outside for them, but if they wasted anymore time the chopper wouldn't be there for them. Suddenly, Gijutsu burst out of the wall, blood staining his armour and swords. He threw his spear at the President, but Jack jumped off of his chair, tackling the man to the ground. Xavier put his hands to his head, trying to dive into Gijutsu's mind. But telepathy would have no effect on this alien.

"I do not enjoy assassination, but Karabai has given me a direct order and I will obey my master" Gijutsu said, swinging his swords at the president.

But Nick and Bucky both fired their guns at Gijutsu, forcing him back. The general easily deflected the bullets then threw one of his swords at the soldiers. Nick dived to the floor, firing his pistol at Gijutsu's head. But the general split the bullet in half, and then kicked Fury in the jaw, lifting him up off the floor. Xavier and Jack widened their eyes as Gijutsu plunged his sword through Fury's heart.

* * *

Hank was astonished by the inside of Gigas's body. It was like a twisted form of the human body. Or more like an arcade game, his white blood cells were basically pale versions of Pacman, but without the smiling face. Hank flew as fast as he could through the alien's arteries, with several of the chomping, rampaging monsters that were blood cells behind him.

'Damn it, this guys body is like a maze, it's like I've been going around in circles' Hank thought.

He suddenly rolled to the left as one of the blood cells bit at him. Swinging around, Hank fired his stingers; the laser blasts stung the monsters, drawing them backwards slightly. Hank smirked as he came towards the end of the tube. But much to his shock he ended up in a place outside of the heart. Suddenly a hand shot out of the wall of flesh, grabbing Hank and leaving his head and shoulders exposed. A pair of teeth soon appeared in the wall, grinning the way Gigas always did.

"Worthless little bug, your effort is in vain, did you really think you could reach my heart so easily…I can control every part of my body, I can control the laws of anatomy itself" Gigas explained, laughing as Hank struggled.

The new Wasp remained silent, already thinking of a plan that would get him out of this situation.

'Control every part of your body, there must be a downside…no there's a flaw in his character!' Hank thought.

He activated his stingers, slicing off the fingers of the giant hand. Then he fired his stingers at the mouth, shattering its teeth and blowing a hole through Gigas's knee. The General growled and focused on his inner opponent. Hank began bombarding the heart with stinger blasts, grinding his teeth together as the blasts had no effect. Tentacles began flying out of the walls, lashing at Hank. He flew as fast as he could, performing various spins and flips to avoid the crushing tentacles.

* * *

_"Slade, thank you for having faith in me…but why exactly do you have so much faith?" Hank asked._

_Slade leant against the wall with his arms crossed, looking over some of Hank's experiments._

"_You're a man of science but you've been faced with death many times, does it not make you believe in some kind of spiritual presence?" Slade asked._

"_I…I've always prayed, sometimes outwardly, sometimes in my mind…there's always a scientific explanation, but sometimes science isn't the answer…I don't see how science is going to win this war" Hank explained, looking over the charred remains of one of Karabai's scorpion mechs._

"_Doesn't take science, it takes intelligence Doctor Pym, and you're an intelligent man…you just need to have a little patience at times"_

"_That's rich coming from you" Hank laughed._

_Slade couldn't help but laugh at that comment. He never was good at following his own advice. Despite intelligence, pride was something some men never forgot._

"_You could lead the Avengers you know" Slade said._

"_I know, I just think people like Cap or even Tony are better suited" Hank said._

"_They may be symbols that people can rally around, but you've got the brain to think of a plan, at times that can be more important than inspiration" Slade explained._

_The door suddenly slid open and Thor walked into the room._

"_Ah Slade there you are, come you should join me for Asgardian Mead, there is still time to celebrate our victory in Asgard" Thor said cheerfully, wrapping his arm around Slade's neck and raising his glass._

_Hank chuckled as Slade sheepishly looked to him for help. But he'd get no help from Pym this time._

"_Sorry Thor, my recharge time is over…I've got to get out there and help" Slade said as he shoved Thor off of him._

"_Very well, we shall celebrate with our blades, to battle then!" Thor said, putting on his helmet and drinking his Asgardian drink._

"_I think I'll come with you, you idiots are going to need a plan you know" Hank laughed._

* * *

Thor had a plan, that much Sif knew for herself. He was going to win this battle; Sif and the other Asgardian warriors had faith in that possible outcome. In the skies of the planet, Thor and Denatsu flew into space. They fired blasts at one another, missing every time. But Thor's blasts slammed into the alien ships. The members of the Nova corps looked to the battle, shocked by the raw power both beings displayed. Thor slammed his hammer into Denatsu's chest, pushing him down Earth's atmosphere. Smoke rose from Thor's body as he entered Earth's atmosphere. The air travelled up his nose and Thor sighed, relieved to feel wind on his face again.

"I AM INVINSIBLE!!!" Denatsu yelled, firing multiple blasts at Thor.

But Thor smashed the energy to bits with his hammer. These small pieces of the energy then flew behind Thor, slamming into his back. He quickly recovered, throwing his hammer into Denatsu's chest. The hammer dug into Denatsu's belly, pushing him down towards the ground. He slammed into a building in New York, crashing through the ceiling and into the ground. The building then collapsed, burying the general. Thor held out his hand and his hammer suddenly flew out of the rubble. Grabbing the hammer, Thor then summoned a giant bolt of lightning and crashed it down on the rubble. All the rocks were thrown aside from the force and an explosion of electricity created a crater where Denatsu now stood.

"YOUR DEAD FOOLISH HUMAN! I AM NOW INVINCIBLE!!!" Denatsu yelled as his muscles grew bigger than the Hulk's.

He leapt forward, slamming his fist into Thor's wrist. Thor cringed as he felt the bone crack, but he didn't waver. He looked at Denatsu defiantly, hitting him round the head with his hammer.

"YOU FOOL! I CAN ABSORB ENERGY AS WELL! YOU'VE JUST GIVEN ME VICTORY ON A PLATE!!!!" Denatsu laughed, grabbing Thor's wrist and twisting his arm.

Then the general threw the god, sending him crashing through buildings and bouncing across the road. Thor slid to a halt at the ruins of a very familiar mansion. Jake and the young X-men at the mansion looked towards where Thor had landed.

"All of you stay inside, do not go out for anything!" Thor warned as he prepared for Denatsu's incoming attack.

* * *

_Slade sat in his room, reading through the files given to him by James. They all held detailed information on the Avengers adventures. The day they were formed, the changes in their roster, their missions, the day they disbanded and the day they reassembled. He focused on the speech of the original team._

_"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born — to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then — for now, the Avengers Assemble!"_

_But that day had been years, and still the Avengers never truly assembled. Was it even possible anymore?_

"_Perhaps heroes can only come out when they are needed" Slade said to himself._

"Yes, heroes truly rise when they are needed!" Slade said.

"What are you babbling about?" Skaar asked, huffing in Slade's face.

Slade grinded his teeth together as his eyes glowed a red colour. With a yell he elbowed both War Machine and Rockslide in the chest. Then he swung his leg round, kicking Skaar across the head. Landing on his feet, Slade looked at Hope and Enchantress with determination in his eyes. Even as the future X-men began to surround him he maintained that determination.

"You are but one man who faces the inevitable, what can you possibly do alone?" Enchantress asked.

"I'm not by myself, I have the collective dreams and thoughts of all heroes driving me forward…I'm not alone, I'll never be alone, though we are apart we still fight together, we still fight against the inevitable!" Slade said as his armour began to change shape.

Iron Man's helmet covered his face, with the wings of Thor's helmet as his ears. Captain America's shirt appeared over his chest while a duplicate shield was in his left hand. He also gained boots and trousers that were a mixture of Thor's, Antman and Cap's. Eye lenses like Spider-man's appeared on the helmet and four wings like the Wasps but made of steel slid out of his back.

"MY DESTINY ISNT WHAT YOU PREDICT! IT IS WHAT I CHOOSE IT TO BE!!!"

With those words, the transformed Slade rushed to battle. Across America, two founding Avengers and a first generation Super hero were battling the three generals of Karabai. In Washington, Gijutsu smiled as he had just impaled Earth's hope. His mission was complete; alls that was left to do was kill the president and the telepath.

"Surprise!" Fury said.

Gijutsu widened his eyes as Fury's face "popped" off, revealing a metallic skeleton beneath it. The Life Model Decoy's eyes flashed, blinding Gijutsu. Bucky then ran forward, slamming his metal arm into the general's chest.

"You bastards! You will pay for this dishonour!!" Gijutsu growled, thrusting his sword forward.

Bucky grinded his teeth together as the sword flew into his shoulder. Growling he squeezed his cybernetic hand into a fist. The star on his shoulder glowed as he raised his arm.

"War isn't about honour!"

_"Fights in a war aren't about fun or personal glory Bucky" Captain America said as he slammed his shield into the head of a Nazi soldier. "They aren't about peoples concepts of honour or world views, fighting a war is about one simple thing"_

"IT'S ABOUT WINNING!!!!" Bucky yelled as he punched Gijutsu as hard as he could.

The force of the punch shattered Gijutsu's face and Skrull Gijutsu, general of Karabai's melee fighters and master of skill was defeated. He fell on the floor, smiling as Bucky raised his fist to crush his heart. Finally he had found an equal in philosophy, one who defeated both his skill and his honour. Bucky punched through Gijutsu's chest, crushing the general's heart.

"COME ON WE NEED TO GET TO THE CHOPPER NOW!!!!" Bucky yelled, reloading the LMD's old pistol and running down the corridor with the other members of the group.

* * *

_"I really love you you know!" Hank whispered to Janet as they slept in bed._

"_You should say it more often" Janet giggled._

"_I know, Janet Van Dyne-Pym, I love you!"_

"_I love you too Henry Pym"_

Hank had his eyes closed as he flew towards Gigas's heart. When he opened his eyes he fired his stingers, the yellow beam of light flew through the heart. On the outside, Gigas, coughed out a shower of blood. He growled, this Wasp sized man had evaded his traps, injured him internally and humiliated him.

"You think you're so smart?" Gigas asked.

"I'm smarter than you stupid!" Hank smirked.

"THAT'S IT YOUR DEAD HUMAN!!! IF HOPE YOU LIKE IT IN THERE ENJOY THE VIEW CAUSE IT'S THE LAST THING YOU'LL EVER SEE!!!" Gigas yelled, grinning as he began to shrink.

He'd crush the little man for annoying him. But inside the general's body, Hank smiled. This general truly was stupid, all power and no strategy. He thought that Hank could only shrink, that was where he went wrong. So as Gigas shrank, Hank grew. Gigas screamed in agony as he felt Hank grow inside him. Grinding his teeth together, Hank pushed against the organs and the skin his head hit.

"OH NO! NO STOP!!!!" Gigas yelled.

"Sorry dumb ass but after all the shit you've done I think its time you got punished!" Hank growled.

Atlas and Tom put their hands to their eyes as Gigas burst like a balloon. While the two humans covered their mouths, Jocasta merely blinked in confusion.

"But I thought you said you'd blow up a bomb" She said.

"I did, I knew the man had anger issues so I pushed him again and again until he decided to try and crush me from the inside while shrinking…I was the bomb Jocasta, I grew from the inside as he shrank, my rate of growing was much faster" Hank explained.

"So what happens now?" Atlas asked.

"First we find O'Grady and kick his ass, then we go to Stamford"

Slade smiled, sensing Hank's victory. He threw his shield in a circle, striking the enemies surrounding him. Then he flew into Skaar, punching him multiple times across the head. Rolling across the floor, Slade then tripped up Bishop and Push. Heroes continued to fight on inside America and outside as Moscow's Winter guard clashed with alien forces. Sunfire flew through Tokyo, engulfing an alien capital ship in flames. In New York, Thor closed his eyes as Denatsu rushed towards him. He smiled as Denatsu slammed his fist into his face. In one moment, the very ground shook as Denatsu released all the energy he had absorbed into a single punch.

Jake widened his eyes as he watched Thor fall to the ground. Denatsu's arms shrank as he fell to his knees. But the general smirked, his men were on their way to pick him up, he wouldn't be vulnerable for long. He had committed the greatest act anyone in Karabai's army could commit, he had killed a god. Klara and Anole put their hands to their mouths while Eli grinded his teeth together.

"Oh god, Thor…that bastard!" Cassie cried.

"Do as Thor said and stay inside" Jake said as he walked towards the door.

The teenagers blinked in confusion and watched from their hiding place. Jake walked towards Denatsu, his eyes fixed on the body of Thor.

"What do you want Human, come to admire my work?" Denatsu asked with a chuckle.

"No, I'm here to do my part as Donald Blake did his!" Jake said as his eyes drifted towards the hammer.

Denatsu widened his eyes as Jake picked up the hammer. But that was impossible, how could that weak human pick up such a magnificent weapon.

"NO! THIS ISNT FAIR! YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE A WEAKLING!!!" Denatsu yelled.

"Weakling or not I am one of many that Mjolnir deems WORTHY!!!" Jake yelled.

He crashed the hammer onto the back of Denatsu's head, crushing his skull and brain. Jake looked towards the body of Thor as the image of muscles and long blonde hair faded. Now lying peacefully on the floor was the delicate and very mortal image of Donald Blake. This had been his plan all along, to die so that another could defeat the worn out general.

"Thank you" Jake said as he began to swing the hammer one moment, the god of Thunder Thor replaced Jake Olsen. He looked at Donald Blake and bowed in respect, knowing that the gates of Valhalla were a better place now. He then walked towards the mansion; it was time for the young heroes to go to Stamford.

* * *

Slade slammed his head into War Machine's, shattering his helmet and revealing an older version of David Alleyne underneath. He threw a hammer like Thor's into the chest of Rockslide, crumbling the being of rock to pieces. Flying forward, Slade, shifted into his armoured form, his black side glowed a silver colour while his white side shined gold.

"THE TWO PIECES WILL BE UNITED!!!" He yelled, firing two magnificent blasts of energy.

The dark side blast flew through Torque's chest, then disintegrated Shard and Push. But the light side blast flew like a bullet into every X-man and woman, knocking them backwards. The two blasts flew into the air, combining into a vortex of energy. This vortex drew in the X-men, while Enchantress, Skaar and the Sorceress Supreme disappeared. When the vortex disappeared, the unconscious X-men fell to the floor. Slade breathed heavily, worn out from the loss of the energy he had released.

"That's how I fight, my destiny is my own!" Slade said.

Suddenly, a beam tore through Slade's chest, sending him crashing to the floor. Slade coughed as Iron Warlord stood over him, red electricity crackling in his hands.

"It's over Slade, whether you decide to make that sacrifice or not the world will fall into my order! In my world, Hope Summers destroyed my home, the only difference I have cause in my intervention is that it wont be her but you and your friends" Warlord explained, kicking Slade in the chest. "My past, your future is inevitable!"

"Your wrong, destiny is chosen" Slade coughed.

"YOU'RE DELUDING YOURSELF! YOUR SENSE OF HOPE IS PATHETIC! HOPE GETS US NOWHERE! ALLS IT DOES IS MAKE THINGS EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTING WHEN THINGS DON'T GO OUR WAY!!!"

Iron Warlord huffed; he wouldn't waste his time with a dying man. The battle for Stamford was already beginning, there was nothing Slade could do about it. And in another Fifteen hours Karabai himself would attack the planet with all his might. A world of order, whether it be from himself or Karabai was inevitable. Slade coughed, crawling across the ground as Warlord teleported away. He needed to make his choice, before all of Stamford was destroyed this time.

Next Chapter 19: A courage that wont be broken

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next we go to the situation at Camp Hammond!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 19: A courage that wont be broken

Sieg stood in front of an army of heroes and villains, his determination never wavering for a moment. He knew it was a matter of time before the man broke. His sanity was fragile and one more push would be enough to make him reveal his true intent.

"Look what we have here, a suicidal hero!" Norman said.

The Sentry walked through the crowds, looking at Sieg hesitantly.

"Bob, please restrain him" Norman said.

Sieg lowered his sword and looked at Sentry with a fierce gaze.

"I see you've given up on being a hero, cant say I'm surprised" Sieg said.

Bob looked at his hands, closing his eyes as they changed to a black colour. He dashed behind Sieg, grabbing his arms and holding him above the ground. Sieg grinded his teeth together, he needed to reach Sentry. That was the part he would play, saving the Sentry, even though most wouldn't want him saved.

"Mr Reynolds, you cant just do whatever he tells you to do, maybe there is a void, maybe it's a persona that your mind created, maybe it's a true pat of your power, but you need to control it on your own, not with this mad mans help, look at him he isn't a sane person" Sieg explained.

Sentry looked at Sieg, and then at Norman, the man looked desperate but not insane.

"Cloud 9 if you have the shot then take it" Norman said on his radio.

"Yes sir!" Abby said coldly, sitting atop a cloud vapour with her rifle ready.

She aimed at Sieg's head; these were the orders she had been given. It was the job of an initiative hero to follow orders. Her mind was set, yet her body hesitated, her finger lingering at the trigger. Was this truly right? The old Abby asked. Suddenly, the vapour was blown aside and Cloud Nine found herself getting pulled from her sniping position. She looked up and saw a masked man, Reckless riding on a hand glider. He Threw Cloud 9 aside and flew towards Osborn. Jumping from the glider, he drew his sword and swung it down at Osborn.

"Nice try!" Lily cackled as she fired a blast from her glider.

The beam hit Reckless's shoulder, throwing him away from Osborn. Rolling across the floor with smoke rising from his shoulder, Reckless immediately recovered and ran at Osborn. Venom and Juggernaut ran at Reckless, but Reckless slashed Venom across the throat, and then jumped over Juggernaut. He threw his sword at Osborn, but Moonstone intercepted the blade with a blast from her hand. Reckless kept running forward, brandishing a pair of diamond knuckle-dusters. Weapon Omega fired a blast at Reckless, who used his knuckle-dusters to deflect the blast into Dark Beasts chest. Head's man and MR X ran forward, intending to finish what was started in Latveria. But Reckless slammed both his feet into the two men's faces, knocking them to the floor.

"RECKLESS LOOK OUT!!!" Sieg yelled.

A red fist slammed into Reckless's chest, throwing him away from Osborn. The masked man rolled across the floor, coughing as he clutched his burnt chest. Of all people, the Red Hulk walked towards Reckless, grinning as her clicked his fists together.

"Puny little man, your efforts are in vane" Rulk said.

"Me, no…the pathetic one is the one who uses these moments of tragedy to further his own ambition" Reckless said.

Sieg gasped in shock, Reckless wasn't using a synthesizer anymore. His voice sounded freakishly familiar.

The X-men flew as fast as they could across the sky, failing to notice a smaller jet flying past them. Celeste didn't care what Cyclops told her to do, the gut feeling she had told her to go to Stamford. It was like a voice, a voice she had heard many times before. Something talked to Bob Reynolds too as he watched Reckless fight against the ruthless members of the Dark Avengers. He fought with all his effort, punching Rulk across the face and dodging blasts fired by Mimic and Omega. In the shadows of the base, Loki smirked as he watched Dark Beast kick Reckless from behind.

"One man standing against impossible odds, I'm almost touched…fortunately moments like that pass quickly" Loki cackled.

The Hood fired his pistols at Reckless and commanded his gang to attack. But much to their astonishment, Reckless still fought on. When they tried to restrain him, he threw them off, punching each one of them across the head. Madam Masque and Mystique fired their pistols at Reckless. But he masked man took the shots, the bullets bouncing off of the armour on his back and inside his mask. He jumped and kicked the two women, grabbing their pistols. But before he could fire, Lily threw a pumpkin bomb towards him. He crossed his arms together and yelled as the explosion threw him back. The explosions echoed through the camp, waking the imprisoned New Avengers from their sleep.

"What the hell is going on?" Luke asked.

"Whatever's happening its something we need to stop" Clint said, struggling underneath his binds.

Reckless slashed Mr X across the face then kicked Daken in the chest. Spitting his blood on the floor, Reckless looked at his opponents. Mimic looked at the mans grey eyes in shock. Those determined eyes were so familiar.

"CALVIN! KILL HIM!!!" Norman yelled.

Calvin looked at Reckless, his eyes glowing hesitantly. Something in his head kept telling him to kill this man. He put his hands to his head and yelled, firing his optic beams into the air.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING RANKIN! OBEY ME I AM YOUR LEADER!!!" Norman yelled.

He couldn't do it; he couldn't kill Reckless, because he knew who was underneath that mask. Sentry stared at Reckless, astonished by his determination. Here was an ordinary man standing in defiance of super soldiers, mutants and even demons. But what was Sentry doing, he was living in fear of his power.

"LET ME GO SENTRY! HE'S TOO WEAK THEY'LL KILL HIM!!!" Sieg yelled, struggling in Sentry's grip.

Emma Frost punched Reckless across the face, ripping off more of his mask and revealing a few strands of blonde hair. He kicked Emma in the face, then grabbed her cloak and threw her into Lily Hollister. Rolling across the floor, Reckless then head butted Daken, grabbed his hair then threw him into Wrecker. He punched Venom across the head, then in the stomach. Gargan stepped back, rubbing the scratch marks on his face.

"MUST I DO EVERYTHING MYSELF!!" Norman yelled, firing a repulsor blast at Reckless.

But the man flipped backwards, barely avoiding the blast. He fell to his left knee, breathing heavily as the Hammer agents and gang members surrounded him. The members of the Initiative looked at Reckless with mixed reactions. Some were torn between the choices of helping him or Osborn while others were beginning to see just how fragile Osborn's sanity truly was.

"This guys a fighter!" Rulk said.

"What do we do to fighters again?" Daken asked.

"We break them" Moonstone said.

He knew they were trying to scare him, and quite frankly he was terrified. They could break his body, but he couldn't let them break his courage.

* * *

The heroes needed to unite, that much Slade knew. In the images that he had been shown by Enchantress he had discovered who was underneath the Iron Warlord mask. Standing up, Slade's eyes shined as he began to float into the air. He needed to make his choice; a life depended on that choice. Flying into the air, Slade yelled, fighting back the pain in his chest.

While Slade carried out his plan, the President was already contacting the armed forces and Victoria Hand. The woman listened to the president's words in shock. In the church that the resistance hid in, Gloria finished her prayers and turned to the agents and Harry.

"Are we ready?" She asked.

"Yep!" Gauntlet said, putting on a bulletproof vest and loading a rifle.

Trauma put on his shirt and fatigues, now was the time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to be truly revived.

"This is Jacky boy on all radio frequencies, Helicarrier omega is currently on a path towards alien forces, would anyone like to join us?" Driver asked, cockily leaning his head back and tilting the controls of the helicarrier with his feet.

"Maintain discipline boy, you're a soldier now!" Dugan growled, standing beside Fury at the CIC.

"Insert some kick ass music" Phobos said, sitting between Driver and Quake.

"We don't have a CD player" Stonewall mumbled.

While armed forces travelled towards Meijin's forces, Eden and Thor were beginning to gather the prisoners of Karabai. Though they couldn't get into the capital ship they managed to get the rest of the Nova Corps and Nova himself out as well as the other Guardians of the Galaxy.

"Does he really need to do this every time?" James asked, getting greatly annoyed by the number of times Wiccan had repeated the words of his teleportation spell.

Pixie teleported into the ship holding Magneto and his children. Beside her was Loa, who walked towards the prisoner's cuffs and phased through them. The cuffs crumbled to pieces and Wanda immediately teleported them to the ruins of the resistance base.

"Damn, this place cost me a fortune!" James said as he and the Young Avengers appeared soon after Wanda.

"WILLIAM THOMAS!!" Wanda yelled, hugging her two boys.

"I hate to interrupt the family reunion but we've got a battle to finish" Sebastian Druid said.

"Yeah, hey little girl, can you take us to the Helicarrier?" Hellfire asked.

"Yes and take us to Stamford, it is time for Osborn to be punished!" The Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider said.

"I cant do seven things at once you know" Pixie laughed sheepishly.

* * *

Slade flew as fast as he could, then he saw Celeste's minijet. He flew beside her, pointing his finger at the ground. Celeste nodded her head and landed the aircraft.

"Your Slade right? Is Sieg at Stamford?" She asked.

"Yes, he will need you to deliver something to him" Slade began as he shifted into his armour form. "I will take you to Camp Hammond, where the others will be meeting us, but I will not stay for the battle…I have a job to do and so do you" Slade said as he placed his hand on Celeste's shoulder.

She suddenly shifted into her diamond form and Slade's white armour suddenly disappeared. Gripping her shoulder tightly, Slade began to whisper into her ear.

Nova and his team of Corp members flew across space, engaging the enemies in front of them. They were soon joined by Dark Hawk, Captain Marvel, Pepper Potts and James, all of them wearing armour modified for space warfare. Gladiator hesitantly flew towards his attackers, he had orders to follow. On the Earth's surface, the Hulk jumped across landscapes on his way to Stamford. She-Hulk, Doc Samson and Rick Jones followed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. hover car. While the original X-men travelled to Stamford, the rest of the X-men including Deadpool put on jet packs and flew to the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.

"The days that this war reaches its end are fast approaching" Slade said as he carried Celeste towards Camp Hammond.

As they arrived, portals began to open in the middle of the base. Thor appeared with the X-men and Runaways that stayed at the mansion. After them came Wiccan and the Young Avengers, including MVP, Renascence, Wall Flower, Scarlet Spider and the other Runaways. The Black Bird then flew over Hammond, its hatch opening to reveal the original five X-men. Another portal soon opened, revealing the new Sorcerer Supreme Mister Voodoo and Spider-man, Nightcrawler and Rachel Grey. Norman looked at the new arrivals in shock, and then growled as Slade landed near the statue of Jim Hammond.

"Go to him!" Slade said to Celeste.

She nodded her head and ran through the crowds of people towards Sieg. His expression lit up as he broke free from Sentry's grip and ran to her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"Fulfilling my destiny!" She said.

"What do you mean?"

Another portal suddenly appeared in front of Reckless. Out of the portal walked out the future Black Panther, Storm and the Fantastic Four.

"She means that Slade has made a choice that will change the course of history" T'Chaka said.

Other future X-men suddenly began to appear in Camp Hammond then came Skaar, Victorious, Ant-woman, the two Marvel's and the future version of Armoury.

"You killed T'Lila T'Chaka…I think its time you received punishment" Victorious said.

"I can not allow our future to come true, I don't care what happens to me so long as others do not go through the suffering I went through" T'Chaka said, looking up at his former allies defiantly.

"I don't understand, what future?" Sieg asked.

"A world where Slade died in a noble charge against Karabai, though he succeeded the act failed to truly unite heroes, the government continued to run the registration act and in their desperation they turned to Victoria Hand for leadership, then when she was murdered, Norman Osborn Junior, the son of Osborn and Lilly Hollister took over, eventually conquering the whole world"

As T'Chaka explained what awaited in the future, Lily felt something kick at her chest. The other Hammer agents put their hands to their ears, they all heard the news. Norman Osborn was no longer in charge, but Osborn was smarter than people thought he was, the soldiers with him were all Hydra and Aim agents, they were in this for money.

"No way, that cant be, what happens to Stark and the rest of us?" Cloud 9 asked.

"You all pathetically go along with the government and by the time you grow the balls to fight the great order your all executed…not to exactly hard to figure out" Slade growled as he looked at the words on Jim Hammond's statute in disdain.

"A great order huh…and I assume my Goblin Prince will be in control of everything" Norman said.

"Yes of course" Victorious said.

"Good, every body who wants to live KILL ALL THE HEROES!!!!" Norman yelled.

Reckless widened his eyes the man had finally broken. He fired a blast that tore through T'Chaka's chest.

"T'CHAKA!!!" Storm screamed as she caught her future son in her arms.

"Do not worry…I will live on" He coughed weakly.

Utter carnage soon followed as the Initiative members clashed with the Hood's gang, the Dark X-men and Avengers and Osborn's Thunderbolts. The Sentry watched in shock as fists pounded on flesh and bullets whizzed through the air. While the battle was taking place, Slade shot beams from his eyes, crossing out the words on the statue.

"Heroes are made!" Slade scoffed.

As he began to carve in a new phrase, Sieg looked to Sentry.

"Is this what you want…do you want to be known as the coward that let the Earth be destroyed?" Sieg asked.

Sentry stared at the battle and nodded his head. His eyes shot open, revealing the light of one million exploding suns. He suddenly flew into Red Hulk, punching him so hard that he flew into the squad barracks. Turning to Reckless, Sentry lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry!" he said before flying into the battle.

"Great, we've lost our get out of jail card!" Madam Masque said, shooting at Think Tank and Equinox.

"And our god of war!" Hood said, watching Ares behead The Wizard.

Suddenly, a worm like creature burst out of the ground, eating Madam Masque. Other creatures began to burst out of the ground as insect aliens flew towards the base.

"Looks like my plans have changed!" Slade and Osborn both said.

The latter ran into the base, with Reckless pursuing close behind him. Slade stood up, having finished the carving.

"Heroes choose!" He read as he walked towards the battle.

"Celeste, what's going on?" Sieg asked.

"I have something important to do Sieg, something that'll result in my death…but I'm okay with that" Celeste smiled sheepishly.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around Sieg's waist.

"I really loved you!" She said.

Slade suddenly flew into Sieg and Celeste, throwing them both to the ground.

"Sorry, change of plans!" Slade said, taking a blast from Armoury.

Celeste returned to her normal form and watched as the light that Slade had given her flew in front of them. Slade spread his arms out and began taking multiple blasts fired at him by Penance, Weapon Omega, Moonstone, Armoury and Hope Summers.

"Slade what are you doing? The plan was for me to sacrifice myself!" Celeste said.

"Sorry, but I cant let you do that, not when you and Sieg have potential…I cant run away from death anymore, I cant let my courage be broken" Slade grinded his teeth together as he took the blasts.

"SLADE!!!" Sieg yelled, picking up his sword and preparing for battle.

But much to Sieg's shock, the sword he carried flew into Slade's hand. He held the sword out as it changed to its diamond form. With every step he took, the sword blocked the shots that the villains fired at him. Sieg ran at Slade, but was punched across the face by Loki.

"Sorry boy, but I'm afraid you wont be saving anyone today, get ready to join your hero in Valhalla!" Loki smirked.

"NAY I SAY THEEE!!" Thor yelled, flying through the crowds and crashing his hammer into Loki's head.

The force of the blow sent the god of mischief flying into the wall. Thor looked to Slade, pushing past battling heroes and villains as he tried to follow Osborn and Reckless.

"SLADE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!" Thor yelled.

"Fulfilling my destiny, not the destiny that people have predicted for me, but the destiny that I have chosen MYSELF!!" Slade yelled.

The hilt of the sword flashed, throwing back the enemies around Slade. Cracks began to run across his body as he got closer and closer to the door Reckless and Osborn had ran through. Suddenly a beam cut through Slade's side.

"NOOOO!!!!" Sieg yelled as the man fell to his knees.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you don't get to choose your destiny" Iron Warlord said, flying over the battlefield, the barrel of his wrist blaster smoking.

Reckless limped through the corridors of the base. He suddenly stopped as he heard the sound of crackling electricity. Standing before him was the Thor Clone; Osborn must have reactivated it to cover his and Lily Hollister's escape. But he couldn't back down now, he needed to stop Osborn. He ran at the clone, trying to kick him in the face. But "Ragnarok" grabbed his foot and threw him against the wall.

"Pathetic little man" The Clone grunted.

Outside, Slade fell into the arms of Sieg with Celeste and Thor close beside him.

"Oh god, Slade…what the hell were you thinking?" Sieg asked.

"I…I am proud to have lived in this world, no matter how short it was" Slade said, leaning his head back into Sieg's chest.

Tears began to run down Sieg's eyes while Thor squeezed the handle of his hammer.

"The truth …I was never born in this world, I was created as a result of Wanda's actions the day she destroyed the Avengers, the energies she dispersed resulted in the creation of Muga…. a being without form that absorbed the emotional energy released by the Avengers during that time, that is how I can shift forms…then came M-day, the mutant energies created a crack on this sword, the power that seeped out went into me, the House of M version of Sven Reilly, or I guess you could say his body" Slade explained, smiling as Sieg widened his eyes in shock. "I survived the shift in reality caused by Wanda but as a being separate from this worlds Sven Reilly when I merged with Muga, the power erased my memories of my former life…and when the Stamford tragedy occurred more energy seeped from the blade, the fragment of Aeon inside it dived into me" Slade suddenly began coughing.

"Stop talking Slade, save your strength" Celeste said.

"NO! YOU MUST HEAR THIS! I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT!!!" Slade yelled.

"SHIT! SHIT!! Why did this happen, why do you have to go?" Sieg asked, wiping the tears in his eyes.

"Because it's the choice I made Sieg, heroes always make a choice" Slade said weakly.

"WAIT! I WILL FIND A HEALER!!!" Thor yelled.

"Stop Thor…please, I want this"

Thor stopped and lowered his hammer. While others battled around them, Thor removed his helmet and sat beside his friend. A smile formed on Slade's face as Tony flew in, wearing his Extremis armour. Then came Crusader and Songbird, followed by She-Hulk. Her cousin the Hulk ran into the battle alongside Samson and A-Bomb. Hank landed in the battlefield, throwing villains aside in his giant form. But when he saw Slade, he shrank and walked towards the scene.

"Slade, what happened?" Tony asked, removing his helmet.

"To point out the obvious I'm fading, my body will break and the power inside me will return to those who should truly bare it" Slade said.

The first members of the resistance kneeled beside Slade and remembered the day they had met him. He was a stranger at first, but over the short time they had known him he had bought out the best in them. For Crusader, he taught him the importance of making your own identity, teaching him to accept and be proud of his heritage. He taught Songbird to look to the future with hope. And he restored the faith Jennifer, Hank and Tony had in heroism, and one another.

"Thank you for coming my friends, I will never forget the feeling of friendship…it helped me to accept my destiny…please don't forget me…. remember and honour those who fall, keep moving towards a better tomorrow" Slade said fiercely.

He held out his hand and his friends grabbed it. They all nodded to him, fighting back the tears as they smiled.

"Let me show you, the kind of hero…that people…need!"

"SLADE!" Sieg yelled as the mans body shattered.

He looked at the particles in his hand and moaned. Celeste hugged Sieg while Slade's friends put their hands to their hearts. They closed their eyes before opening them and looking at what was left of Slade. The sword had absorbed the light and the darkness merely floated in front of them before flying into the clouds. Suddenly, Sieg's sword began to shine brighter, floating above the ground.

"What's happening to your sword Sieg?" Jennifer asked.

"It's…returning to its original wielder" Sieg said through the tears.

Reckless got up off the floor, looking at the clone defiantly. Ragnarok swung his hammer downwards. Time seemed to slow and Reckless widened his eyes as he felt a familiar feeling. Suddenly, Sieg's sword flew in front of Ragnarok, pushing him back with a bright flash of light. Reckless grabbed the hilt of the sword and slammed it against the ground so hard that the blade shattered to pieces. These pieces flew around him. A tear fell down his face as he ripped off his mask.

Ragnarok watched in horror as the pieces of the sword shaped into different pieces of armour. They covered Reckless as he hovered inches from the floor. The roof of the base was torn open and the battle stopped. All the heroes and villains looked up as a figure floated above them. The white parts of his armour changed a gold colour while the red parts turned grey. Tears dripped forth from the eyeholes of his diamond shaped helmet. His black-gloved hand formed into a fist as he touched his heart.

"I…am Aeon, and from this day, the in fighting stops NOW!!"

Next Chapter 20: Karabai's true invasion

* * *

Aeon is mine and he's back!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 20: Karabai's true invasion

The presence of Aeon had at least temporarily halted the fighting amongst the heroes and villains. But the fighting between the humans and the alien invaders continued until Ten PM. All of Karabai's ships retreated from Earth's atmosphere and now lay in wait on the edge of the moon. The members of the Initiative and resistance allied together and met on Fury's Helicarrier. While Tony, Hank, Reed, Fury, Xavier, Scott and Magneto began planning for their next move, the other heroes either rested or prepared for battle. Ares was one of those, cycling through various weapons alongside Rhodes and Domino. Sieg spent most of the day on the deck, looking at Aeon from afar. The young man was sitting with his legs hanging off the edge of the deck.

"If you want to talk to him Sieg go ahead" Laurie said as she and Sophia walked up behind him.

Laurie was dressed in her New Mutants uniform and was looking at Sieg with concern in her eyes. Sieg simply lowered his head, turning his back to Aeon.

"I don't want to be disappointed" Sieg said. "I idolised Aeon, his spirit guided me…now that I see the real one, I don't want to worship him then find he wasn't the person I thought he was" He explained.

"Oh ye of little faith!" Patrick chuckled, leaning against the wall.

"Lets face it, these past few years have just been big disappointments" Sieg said.

"That's what you get" Nico called, sitting on one of the jets with Chase and Victor. "Worshipping a hero the way you did was pathetic Sieg, why turn to someone else? In the end he's going to turn out to be a big disappointment, after all he's…"

"Don't say adult young lady" A voice said from behind Nico.

The Witch turned around and fell to her back as Aeon stood in front of her.

"If you have a problem with me then simply say it to my face" Aeon said, looking down at Nico with pity in his eyes. "This might be hard for you to believe…but you'll be an adult one day, you're going to be faced with the same problems that adults face everyday, if your lucky you'll get responsibilities…fall in love…gain faith" He explained, walking around the young heroes with his arms crossed. "Don't you dare think that your better than everyone else, your as far from being superior to adults than you can get, I've got some advice…grow up, learn to see the good in others"

Sieg looked at Aeon in awe, he hadn't threatened Nico or talked aggressively. He'd done something that plenty of adults would do, he told her the truth. And as Sieg looked at this young man, he remembered the feeling he had at Stamford. When Aeon was floating in the sky, his sorrow over Slade had been replaced with hope. His armour had shined as he flew towards the ground, slamming his fist straight through the cyborg Ragnarok's head. That immediately stopped the fighting as Osborn retreated, leaving the other super villains to be picked up by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hammer, although Daken, Weapon Omega, Emma Frost, Mystique, Juggernaut, Venom and Moonstone managed to escape custody. Fury now had the majority of the super villains locked in the Helicarrier. The Hood had managed to get away with his gang members while Vargas and Gothica also got away.

But now a true invasion was beginning, Aeon sensed it and so did the other heroes with some form of sixth sense. Aeon walked towards the edge of the Helicarrier.

"Sorry to rudely go like this, but I've got a job to do!" Aeon said before he jumped off of the helicarrier.

He dived off the edge of the helicarrier as ships meteors began to rain down on the planet. His armour shined a gold colour as he slammed his fist into one of the meteors, shattering it to pieces. Then he grabbed one of the rocks and threw it, breaking apart another meteor. He fell towards the buildings in Washington, dragging his arm across the side of one of the buildings in order to slow his fall. The ground cracked as he landed in the midst of a battle between the soldiers of Karabai and Miss Hands Hammer forces. He slammed his fist into the ground, creating a gigantic crystal glacier that obstructed both military forces. Jumping over the crystal, he threw two diamond shields at the grunts. Like boomerangs they span around, cutting the barrels off of the grunts rifles.

Running forward, Aeon dodged their jabs, punching each one across the face. Rolling across the floor he span on the spot, kicking four of them in the head. Then he jumped upwards, landing on an enemy fighter. He slammed his fist into the cockpit, grabbing the pilot and throwing him onto one of the rooftops. Climbing into the fighter, Aeon grabbed the control sticks and steered the fighter away from Washington. Pushing on a stick that he assumed controlled the engine speed, Aeon flew the jet at Mach Ten and beyond.

"Sir, Aeon has gone into battle, but he his kill list is currently Zero!" An agent said to Fury at the carrier.

"He hasn't changed" James said with a smile.

Aeon jumped off of the jet, falling towards Paris itself. Meteors were bombarding the city, and the worst part was that there were still civilians outside. He jumped from one falling rock to another, running across the wall of a building. With a jump, Aeon landed on the balcony of an apartment complex. Running as fast as he could, Aeon kicked a door down, ignoring the gunfire that welcomed him. He grabbed the gunman and his child, jumping out of the window and onto a roof. Throwing the father over his shoulder, Aeon looked up at one of the bigger meteors. Grinding his teeth together from inside his helmet, Aeon charged up and fired an energy blast from his eyes.

"My god, he could never fire a blast that bit" Driver said, watching as a red blast consumed the gigantic meteor.

Like a firework, the energy ball blew up, lighting up the sky and releasing several smaller blasts that hit the other meteors. A crack ran across Aeon's helmet and a piece of it fell off, revealing a scarred left eye, eyebrow and a strand of blonde hair.

"He's not all powerful, he's got limits…just what the hell does he think he's doing?" Dugan asked.

"I saw him using our satellite camera earlier, he was using it to find out where every single person that the military left behind was…there are still two hundred more people hiding in Paris" An agent explained.

Aeon continued to carry the two survivors, grabbing a woman that was holding onto the ledge of a building. Sweat ran down his forehead as he jumped away from an explosion. He looked around him and smiled as clouds began to carry groups of people into the air. Cloud 9 was sitting on her own cloud, her helmet off with no weapons on her body.

"I figured this would be a better use for my power" Abby said, showing a rare smile as she took the two survivors that Aeon recovered.

Nodding his head with respect, Aeon jumped into the air, grabbing the Sentry's hand.

"Good to see you knowing what you want to do" Aeon said.

"I cant let fear drive me back, I have the power to save lives…what kind of person would I be if I just sat back and watched all this?" Sentry asked.

"Good, now throw me!" Aeon ordered.

With a smile, Sentry span around and hammer threw Aeon away from France. He hit his target, an alien capital ship. Aeon burst out of the ships hull, dive-bombing towards a village in Africa. He rolled across the floor, slamming his fist into the groin of an invader. Then he grabbed another by the neck and threw him onto the branch of a tree. Running into the burning village, Aeon grabbed any survivors, carrying them out of the flames. He pointed towards the road to Wakanda, signalling that that would be a safe place. And indeed it was as Storm stood atop a spire, calling lightning down on any alien that crossed Wakandan borders.

In Moscow the Russian Winter Guard were assisted in their efforts to protect civilians by Colossus and Magik. While Illyana teleported them to a safe location, Colossus ran alongside Red Guardian. The Russian super soldier slammed his shield into the faces of the alien grunts. Piotr however merely threw them aside, taking their gunshots in order to protect the civilians. Crimson Dynamo suddenly flew in, clothes lining two soldiers and shooting two more in the back.

"We have your back comrade!" Dynamo said, fighting back to back with Colossus.

The two steel behemoths slammed their fists into a bulky alien, sending him flying into a scorpion mech. Darkstar then fired a blast that blew the Scorpion up. All of New York was engulfed in battle, meteorites flew into the buildings and spaceships slammed into the water. Airforce jets flew across the city, firing their missiles at a capital ship. On the streets, gunmen ambushed grunts on the rooftops. The Punisher and Moon Knight were side by side, both firing pairs of automatic pistols at the invaders.

"Sir, the Hawaiian teams watch tower has collapsed" An Agent said.

"Two ships in China have sunk, the El Toro airbase has been hit sir, and we've lost communications with Alpha Flight sir"

"Send a Guardsman squadron to Canada, all aerial agents prep for launch, get Hand on the horn!" Fury ordered.

"She's in her over her head Nick, we've received no requests for backup, her location is a hotspot for meteor showers, which I might add are disrupting communications" Dugan explained.

"Like an electrical storm right?" Driver asked, turning his head towards the agents.

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BLOODY ROAD!!!" Fury yelled.

The Helicarrier was flying at top speed, its missile batteries and cannons bombarding alien ships. Agents stood on the deck, firing laser blasters at the insect aliens flying around them. Meltdown created a bomb that Rockslide threw like a cannonball at an alien ship. She-Hulk jumped onto one of the capital ships, slamming her fists into the hull. A-Bomb then jumped and slammed his shoulder into the ships side, sending it hurtling into one of the other ships.

* * *

In Space, the Nova Corps weren't alone in their fight. Darkhawk also fought alongside them with Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau in her energy form.

"DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP FIGHTING!!!" Xander yelled, punching an elite guard across the face.

Darkhawk sliced a fighter in half with one of his wings and Cap slammed his bands together, releasing a flash that blinded the pilots of a capital ship. Monica then flew in, firing a blast straight into the ships bridge. The ship was blown apart as Guardsmen and S.H.I.E.L.D. spaceships flew to the battle with Ms Marvel leading them. Carol yelled as she changed into her Binary form and cut straight through a prison ship. As it exploded, the other members of the Nova Corps flew out with Richard Rider and Quasar leading them.

"Good job Xander, leave everything to us!" Nova said.

"EVERYONE PUSH FORWARD!!" Carol yelled.

Karabai's main ship was already flying towards Earth and the waves of capital ships ahead of it seemed endless. Carol fired her energy blasts at the alien fighters, taking blasts to her chest and slamming her fists into the ship engines. Darkhawk was hit in the back by an energy blast and Nova was cut across the shoulder by an elite guard.

"HEAD TO F-14 FREE LILANDRA!!" Quasar yelled but was punched across the face by Gladiator.

Xander kicked Gladiator in the chest, but the leader of the Shiar royal guard grabbed the young centurion's foot and threw him into one of the alien ships.

"That's it, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Xander growled.

"Quite a hot head you've got there Rich, any reason why he's a Nova?" Darkhawk asked.

"No idea, the world mind said he was special" Nova said as he punched a hole through one of the elite guards.

In the prison frigate F-14, Queen Lilandra was locked in a cell with Warpath and members of the Starjammers. The Guards scoffed at the sight of the former Empress of the Shiar. Outside, Elite Guards were shooting and killing Guardsmen and Nova Corps members. Xander blocked a punch from Gladiator, countering with a punch to the praetor's head.

"I don't understand, if you're so hesitant why are you fighting for Karabai?" Xander asked.

"I am bound by duty to serve the Emperor of the Shiar Empire, when Karabai conquered the Shiar Empire he wiped out half of its people just as he has done to all the other worlds he has taken" Gladiator explained.

Other members of the Imperial Guard clashed with the Nova Corp members. Impulse shot Darkhawk in the chest and Mentor kicked Nova in the side. Gladiator fired his energy beams at Xander, but the Nova Corp member flew upwards, flying like a cannonball straight through an alien ship. He fired his energy beams like a madman, spinning around and cutting Karabai's soldiers apart. Then he crashed his fist straight through an elite guards skull and flew down the corridor leading to Karabai's throne room.

"Where's Xander?" Nova asked, blocking a blast from Star bolt.

Noh-Varr was about to respond, but Mantra fired a blast that threw him into the side of a Shiar ship. Thor stood on a hill, watching as thousands of alien ships began to fly through Earth's atmosphere. Accompanying them were asteroids that levelled entire towns. But thankfully the people would be safe; Cloud 9, Invisible Woman, Xavin, Rachel Grey and Magik had transported massive amounts of people to Camp Hammond.

"Please make your way through the gate in an orderly fashion, remain inside until we tell you to leave, this is for your own safety" Henry Gyrich explained as Mr Fantastic opened the gates to the N-zone.

"Thousands of people, good work" Sharon Carter said, helping a worn out and fatigued Xavin off of the floor.

They weren't the only ones assisting in evacuations; Quicksilver and Speed were moving hundreds of people to a safe place. This place was Asteroid M, which now floated on the water. Magneto began to make shelters from Titanium provided by Stark.

"Your getting slow uncle, maybe you should retire" Speed said with a smirk.

"No one likes to see a kid cry!" Pietro said, smiling back at the boy.

In Germany Battle Star and Citizen V were leading troops into battle. The grunts fired at the German infantry, their superior technology making short work of their forces. But Atlas slammed into the ground, picking up groups of soldiers and throwing them across Berlin. Abe Jenkins flew down towards the streets, leading the three teenagers that had worn the Beetle armours; all three of them now wore the earlier versions of the Mach armour. Mach I fired her blasters, killing several grunts. The other two Mach's slammed against the side of an alien frigate, pushing it down towards the ground.

"Damn it there's too many!" Wondra said, she Night Thrasher and the other members of the New Warriors were fighting in Madrid.

Black wing flew downwards, throwing back two alien grunts. Tempest blasted an elite guard with her ice gauntlet and set a group of grunts alight with her fire gauntlet. Sky bolt fired his wrist blasters, drawing back a scorpion mech whilst Decibel forced the other grunts to cover their ears as he used his sonic powers. Ripcord lashed out at the grunts with her wrist whips, smacking two across the head and throwing another upwards. Wondra then jumped into the air and slammed her fist into the ground, knocking several grunts to the floor.

"God they keep coming!" Phaser growled, blasting two grunts with his gauntlets.

"We need to keep going, we can't let them destroy everything!" Decibel said, intercepting a meteorite with a sonic scream.

Elite Guards were at their peak in gravity, that was a fact that the people of Earth would soon discover. They ran across the fields of battle, each one of them had their own customised helmet and different coloured visor. But they all had the same devastating skill. Drawing their swords they ran into the battles. One slid across the floor, slicing off Citizen V's leg with a single strike.

"HOLD THEM BACK HOLD THEM BACK!!!" Battlestar yelled, blocking a sword strike with his shield.

"WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS!!!" American troops in New York yelled.

They cut down anything that got in their way. The Punisher fired a rocket at them, but they merely jumped and flipped in midair, avoiding the explosion and throwing a shower of diamond blades. Frank rolled across the floor and Moon Knight intercepted the blades with his own.

"LOCK ONTO THE CAPITAL SHIPS AND HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!!!!!" Fury yelled from the Helicarrier's CIC.

"Bravo Company, retreat to the Ultimate carrier now, Zero and Beta companies provide cover fire immediately, that goes for both our troops and Iraqi troops" Rhodes said, firing three missiles with little effect against the alien mother ship.

Sieg listened to the voices across the radio; Vegas, Hawaii, Iceland and half of the United Kingdom had been lost. Troops were all ready beginning to withdraw from Greece and Iraq while all contact with the troops in Ohio had been cut off. Sieg, Laurie, Sophia, Patrick, Klara, Karolina and the half healed Molly were in a jet heading towards wherever Aeon had gone. Leaning back in his seat, Sieg rubbed the tears out of his eyes. If this war continued, there wouldn't be much of the Earth left. Where had all the hope gone?

"Sieg, are you okay?" Laurie asked.

"No Laurie, I'm…terrified, that all our struggles will be for nothing" Sieg said.

Laurie lowered her head, for she along with every other person on the jet was terrified. The jet flew out of the clouds and hovered above London. Sieg watched in awe as Sentry stopped Big Ben from collapsing, returning it to its original balance. Then his eyes drifted to the ground, where Aeon was battling the elite guards. He blocked their swords with a kite shield and cut the blades apart with his own sword. Running across the street, Aeon threw his shield, bouncing it off a guard's head and kicking another in the chest.

"Sieg, what do you want to do?" Sophia asked.

"I…want…to fight alongside my hero" Sieg said as he opened the jets side door.

He jumped out of the jet, shifting into his armoured form, but without any of its red components. Victory Peace landed beside Aeon, pushing the enemies back with multiple blasts from his hands. Aeon changed his sword and shield into a pair of clubs that he put together to form a pole. Slamming the pole into the ground, Aeon swung off of the pole, launching himself towards Captain Britain. He grabbed the man, taking a blast to his back.

"Who are you?" Brian asked the man that saved his life.

"Someone whose got a job to do!" Aeon said, his eyes glowing a blue colour as he turned to the invaders.

With a yell, Aeon fired a blast that consumed the army of grunts and insects. When the blast faded, hundreds of unconscious aliens were scattered across the floor.

"And that job isn't to kill people"

Sentry blew the alien mother ship apart from the inside, and then flew away from England. Sieg finished off the last of the Elite Guard members with a blow to the head then looked to Aeon.

"Get these men into holding cells as fast as you can, I don't want them dead!" He said, looking Captain Britain in the eyes.

"I'll do my best…thank you, your efforts have saved not only this country but Scotland and Ireland too" Brian explained.

"You don't have to thank me…Sieg, you need to get to Tokyo and fast, Sentry's already on his way to Arabia, we need to cover every stretch of the world…our future depends on us maintaining moral, we cant let anymore cities crumble" Aeon explained as he jumped towards the Ultimate jet that the young heroes were in.

Sieg nodded his head and flew into the sky. Aeon crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Far away from the fighting, Xavier widened his eyes as he felt someone poke at his mind.

'Professor, please read my thoughts, this is our last hope…there's something I need you to do for me' Aeon thought and Xavier listened.

* * *

In space, Xander burst into Karabai's throne room and faced the leader of the invasion with defiant eyes. Gladiator flew into the room and remained still as Xander fired a blast at Karabai. The blast bounced off of Karabai's head as if it were a pebble. Xander widened his eyes in shock at the lack of damage done by his beam. Karabai sighed as he contacted Meijin telepathically.

**"Meijin, put an end to there resistance, destroy the carrier they are using"**

"Yes my lord!" Meijin said as he led his forces towards the helicarrier.

Karabai got off his throne and fired a beam that cut through Xander's shoulder. The Nova Corps member flew backwards, clutching his bleeding shoulder and crying out in pain. Karabai clicked his fingers and the roof of the throne room opened. He flew out into space and confronted the heroes facing him.

"It is time we put an end to this struggle…abandon your hope and embrace your deepest fear" Karabai said, blue energy swirling around his hand like wind itself.

The heroes looked to Karabai and gasped as he fired the blast into deep space. It opened a portal of some kind, raging like a tornado. A chain floated out of the portal and into Karabai's hand. He tugged on the chain and began to pull out a red and purple armoured creature. Ms Marvel was so shocked at what she was seeing that she shifted out of her Binary form. On Earth, Xavier and Magneto clutched their heads in agony while Jean quivered in fear.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked.

"It's back" She said.

Noh-Varr grinded his teeth together as Karabai stood on the creatures back. He recognised the creature from the files he had read on the X-men. Karabai had summoned an old evil that Magneto and Xavier were all too familiar with. Onslaught had returned and Karabai's final invasion was just beginning.

Next Chapter 21: Abandon


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 21: Unity part 1

Xavier was unconscious and Magneto had collapsed in Pietro's arms. The return of Onslaught had a telepathic backlash on the both of them and every other mutant in the army of Earth was incapacitated. There was a moment when they were fully conscious, before they suddenly put their hands to their heads and fell to the floor.

"Oh shit, what happened to the X-men?" Crimson Dynamo asked as Magik and Colossus were incapacitated with insects crowding around them.

Red Guardian threw his shield into the crowd of insects, throwing them away from the two mutants. Quicksilver soon fell unconscious and Speed soon after. Cannonball was flying in midair before he blacked out. Iron Man suddenly swooped in, catching the young man.

"Fury, talk to me, what's happening?" Tony asked.

"We've got reports that every mutant is falling unconscious…oh no, the young X-men team were the only team in Brazil" Fury said.

Two scorpion mechs stood over the unconscious young X-men, raising their claws as they prepared to finish the teens off. Suddenly, Aeon flew in, wearing a black and grey version of his armour with glowing red blades. He flew at impressive speeds, cutting the Scorpions mechs to pieces, his flaming blades preventing the nanobots inside the machines from regenerating. In a flash of red light he stopped in between the young mutants, his arm blades shattering and his armour returning to its red and gold colour. Aeon rubbed the bridge of his helmet, looking up at the sky.

* * *

In space, Onslaught was currently flying straight through the Nova Corps towards earth. One of the members was even unfortunate enough to be eaten by the berserk creature.

"He will go to the earth and consume any mutant that he encounters, the mutants will double his power and eventually when he has consumed every last one of them his hunger will continue to grow until he consumes every last super human being on the planet, then he will simply disappear" Karabai explained as the Galactic heroes began to gather around him.

Starlord fired his guns at Karabai, who laughed as the bullets bounced off his armour. He fired a blast at Nova, who flew to the left to dodge it. Quasar and Phyla flew at Karabai, the latter swinging her sword downwards. But Karabai batted the blade aside with his finger then chopped Phyla across the neck, and threw the palm of his hand into Quasar's face. Noh-Varr, Darkhawk and Nova fired energy blasts at Karabai, who countered with a bigger blast.

"You see, this is the power that Karabai wields" Gladiator said.

Xander grinded his teeth together before flying to aid his teammates. Ms Marvel flew at Karabai from behind, but the warlord grabbed her throat. Then he threw her into Adam Warlock and fired beams from his eyes, beheading two Corp members. Gamora swung her sword down at Karabai, who caught the blade between his two fingers.

"The most dangerous woman in the universe and yet there are women who have more strength than you…Gamora daughter of Thanos, you are not worthy!" Karabai whispered.

He suddenly snapped the blade then tore his hand through Gamora's chest. The woman coughed and stared at Karabai in shock before the alien leader ripped out her heart. Each one of the Galactic heroes widened their eyes in horror as Karabai pushed the body aside and crushed the heart with a simple squeeze of his hand.

"Let us see, whether any of you are worthy of REMAMBRANCE!!!!" Karabai yelled as he flew forward.

Noh-Varr yelled as Karabai slammed his knee into the Kree's stomach. Then he grabbed his head and threw him into Nova, sending the two flying into one of the ships. Karabai fired two blasts from his hands, hitting Carol and Darkhawk in the chest. Photon tried to blast Karabai from behind, but his cape acted as a shield of sorts. He grabbed Photon by the neck and threw her into Quasar's arms. Drax threw a volley of knives at Karabai, who easily blocked the projectiles.

"Drax the Destroyer, you are not WORTHY!!!" Karabai yelled, flying at Drax.

Drax slashed at Karabai, but the blade shattered upon contact with his skin. Then Karabai grabbed him by his neck and lifted him over his shoulder. Rocket Racoon and Starlord fired at Karabai, who tightened his grip on Drax's neck.

"GET IN CLOSE! STOP HIM!!!" Xander yelled, flying as fast as he could at Karabai.

'Still they fight on' Gladiator thought, looking at the battle in awe.

"NOOOO!!!!" Phyla yelled as Karabai snapped Drax's neck.

Xander fired another blast at Karabai with no effect. The warlord then threw an energy blade at Xander, cutting off his right leg. He yelled in agony as his blood flew through space. Phyla yelled as she flew at Karabai, swinging her sword downwards. But Karabai suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind Phyla. But she span round, trying to cut Karabai across the chest. He simply leaned backwards to dodge the blade then backhanded Darkhawk.

"Not only gateway creation but teleportation as well, this mans power has no limit" Mantis said.

"We need a plan!" Nova said.

"No shit!" Racoon said.

"I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!!!" Xander yelled.

* * *

Karabai's soldiers were already beginning to land in Wakanda, and with no Gentle or Storm to protect them; the warriors of Wakanda and Shuri were caught in a desperate Melee. Sophia was also busy nursing Klara, Molly and Laurie, while Patrick piloted the jet.

"Damn, this guy seems to have a plan for every thing we throw at him" Patrick said. "My satellite uplink to S.H.I.E.L.D. has been cut, we've lost our communications"

"No, we still have short wave radio links" Sophia said.

On the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier

"EVERYONE BRACE FOR EVASIVE MANOUVRES!!!" Driver yelled.

Every agent on the Helicarrier held on to anything they could find as Driver barrel rolled the carrier, dodging a devastating blast fired by Meijin's ship. The Carrier flew in between two alien vessels then fired its cannons, blowing apart the two ships.

"GOOD JOB DRIVER! ALL METAHUMANS GET OUTSIDE AND START KICKING ASS!!!" Fury yelled.

Mockingbird, Spider-man, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Bucky ran outside and braced themselves as pods flew towards the carrier. She-Hulk jumped from capital ship to capital ship, landing on a Scorpion mech that had just been launched at the Helicarrier. She slammed her fist into the robot, crushing its head then jumping to aid the other heroes as they fought the Elite Guards. Luke Cage tried to punch one of the elites in the head, but the nimble fighter jumped behind him and slashed him across the back. Mockingbird kicked one of the Elite Guards but was knocked back when she blocked his countering slash. The elite Guard then jumped into the air, ready to finish her off. But an arrow flew into his eye; the guard pulled the arrow out of his eye, but was then shot with several more arrows.

"Guess whose back!" Clint growled, wearing his Hawkeye costume with quivers of arrows on his back and waist.

"Now that moment would really improve sales!" Deadpool giggled.

"Unfortunately we aren't going to see it" Driver sighed.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Dugan asked with a grunt.

Bucky fired a full clip of bullets into an Elite Guard and watched as Spider-man desperately tried to dodge another's slashes. The Elite Guard cut him across the shoulder, but Jessica Jones flew in and punch the guard across the head. She-Hulk swung her fists at the Elite Guards. They easily managed to dodge her strikes; one even shocked her by slashing her across the cheek. The Elite Guards looked at the blood on their blades for a moment before wings suddenly burst out of their backs.

"We've collected suitable samples" They all said before they flew off.

The Avengers then looked up and grinded their teeth together as Meijin floated towards them.

"I think its time we were rid of your interference" The General said before he flew into battle.

* * *

Ink was confused, but he didn't really have time to show that confusion as he fought through an army of alien grunts. For a moment he had been fighting alongside Sunspot, but the latter suddenly fell unconscious. Fury later told him on the radio that all of the mutants in their ranks were falling unconscious. Even people born from super powered beings like Trauma, Hulkling and Spider-man's daughter had fallen asleep. Ink punched and kicked his way through the grunts, desperately trying to reach and protect his other teammates. When the enemies began to run away, Ink widened his eyes in shock. Onslaught currently stood before him, Madrox, the real Madrox was impaled between his claws and Strong Guy was currently having his intestines consumed by the armoured creature.

"Oh god…YOU ANIMAL!!!" Ink yelled, flying at Onslaught.

Strong Guy was a good friend and teammate; people often called him nice guy. Madrox despite his faults was also a good man, when push came to shove he knew what the right thing to do was. Siryn was pregnant with his child, but now he'd never have a chance to meet his son. Ink slammed his fist into Onslaught's head. But the punch had no effect, and Onslaught merely punched the Young X-man aside. Onslaught then threw Madrox down his throat and moaned in pleasure. Tears ran down Ink eyes as Onslaught suddenly jumped into the air. Luckily he hadn't found Sunspot or M, but quite frankly two deaths was more than Ink could take.

Onslaught landed on Utopia, the worst place he could possibly be. Because the 250 or so remaining mutants were currently hiding and unprotected on that little island. It would be an all you could eat buffet for the creature. On the Helicarrier, James examined the creature, putting a hand to his chin as he used a robotic fly to analyse the creature's structure.

"This thing, it's gotten bigger" James said in shock.

"We need to get there quick before it commits genocide!" O'Grady said.

"Wait, you're actually prepared to fight against that thing?" James asked.

Onslaught walked towards the dome the mutant civilians were contained in. Licking its lips, Onslaught grabbed the roof and tore it off.

"NO!!"

Aeon suddenly landed on the beast's head, slamming his flaming fists against its armour. Onslaught swung around, trying to throw the armoured hero off.

"Mr Reilly, I'll help" Cloud 9 said.

"Just get the mutants as far away from here as you can" Aeon cried out as Onslaught grabbed him.

He felt the creature's claws cut his arm, but he couldn't give up, he needed to keep Onslaught distracted. Abby closed her eyes and began to concentrate hard. First she lifted up Quicksilver, Tommy and Magneto. Then one by one she began to lift the inhabitants of the dome into the air. Onslaught slammed Aeon into the ground and tried to stomp on him. But Aeon jumped to the left then jumped at Onslaught, slamming his flaming fist into the creature's mouth. It stepped back, growling before it roared. Aeon and Abby grabbed their heads as they felt something attack their minds. The people that Abby was trying to lift up suddenly fell to the floor, three landing near Onslaught.

"NO!!" Aeon yelled, running forward.

Onslaught slapped the armoured warrior aside and turned towards the fallen mutants. Aeon grinded his teeth together as he got up off the floor. He then widened his eyes as Cloud 9 flew at Onslaught, firing a pistol with no effect on the creature. Onslaught smacked cloud 9 off her cloud and into a wall. Aeon looked at the body and lowered his head for her neck was broken. With a yell he slammed his shoulder into the creature, knocking it over and through a watchtower. In a bunker, Reed and Hank lowered their heads as they witnessed Abby's death. The Initiative had turned her into a cold person, but in the end she chose to die as a hero with her mask off.

"What do we know about this thing besides the fact that it can wipe us all out?" Hank asked.

"There's something I never bought up, a few months ago I detected something in the Negative Zone, and then all of a sudden it just disappeared, it might have been Onslaught…apparently the mutant energies from M-day reformed him…but at the time I thought I was hallucinating but now I realise, I really did see Onslaught in the negative zone, the last thing we saw in space before our satellites were destroyed was Karabai creating a gateway, he's been preparing for an attack on Earth for months, he knew what Onslaught did last time and now he's stripped the creature of all its reasoning" Reed explained.

"Before it was insane, now it's feral and very hungry" Hank summarised.

"Damn it, what are we going to do now?" Reed asked, slamming his hands against the wall.

Aeon punched at Onslaught's leg, and then flipped back to avoid a crushing claw. Onslaught grabbed Aeon's leg and threw him into the air. Aeon changed hi gauntlet into a shield and slammed into Onslaught's face, cutting his gums. Spinning across the floor, Aeon then threw two giant kite shields at the creatures. They rebounded off of Onslaught's armour. But Aeon fired his red eye beams into the left shield, deflecting the beam into Onslaught's face. Onslaught suddenly ran forward, bringing its jaws towards Aeon. But Aeon pushed the top of Onslaught's mouth and jaw, preventing him from biting down. Onslaught pushed Aeon across the floor, but despite his opponents superior strength Aeon still fought on.

"We need people over there now!" James said.

"We don't have any men in that area, we're too spread out across the world" Dugan said.

"What about Sentry, he can get there fast"

"No one can get there fast enough…damn we lost out visual!" Fury growled.

"He'll just have to make do on his own" Driver sighed.

Aeon yelled as Onslaught pushed him against one of the watchtowers.

"I WONT GIVE UP! I WONT LET YOU KILL ANYMORE PEOPLE!!!" Aeon yelled. But Onslaught lifted him off the ground then punched him straight through the watchtower.

Aeon slid across the floor then yelled in agony as Onslaught landed on him, pinning him to the ground with his knees. Onslaught roared, covering Aeon in spit.

"Damn you, I wont let you get away with it…I wont stop fighting!!" Aeon growled, struggling underneath Onslaught's weight.

It opened its mouth and bought it towards Aeon's head. Suddenly an optic blast slammed into its side and knocked Onslaught into the wall. Aeon rolled away from Onslaught and looked towards where the blast came from.

"We lost out connection, but that beam looked like one of Summers" Reed said, clicking a few buttons in order to get the robots connection back.

"You know Stretcho that wont do any good since the little camera thing was squashed" Thing said.

"It couldn't be…but why would he come back?" Hank wondered.

"Whom are you talking about?" Reed asked.

A smile spread across James's face as he sensed who had aided Aeon. Aeon himself got up off the floor and smiled. He didn't have a costume on anymore, now he wore a simple pair of jeans and a shirt. Standing on the edge of Utopia, his copied wings spread out and eyes' glowing was Mimic. Reaching into his pocket, he removed a set of pills and Aeon guessed correctly that they weren't the ones that Osborn prescribed. He popped two of the pills into his mouth then crushed the bottle. Sweat ran down Calvin's face as he clutched his sides.

"NO!!" Aeon yelled as Onslaught ran at Mimic.

He jumped in the creature's way, taking a claw swipe for his friend. Aeon clutched his side for a moment before slamming his shield into Onslaught's jaw.

"It's a good thing you came here Onslaught, because you've given me a good chance to redeem myself without dying…I bet your wondering why I'm still awake? I'm not a mutant, I'm just a stupid kid who walked in on his father and wants to save his best friend" Calvin growled as the MGH began to take effect. "With my powers increased I can now temporarily copy the abilities of EVERY SINGLE MUTANT IN UTOPIA!!!!!" He roared.

Aeon looked to Mimic in shock, his friend's left arm was now diamond with Ice claws on his wrists while his right was alit with flames, with the shoulder covered in brown fur. Scales ran across his back, while a metallic exoskeleton covered his spine, which stretched into a metal bone tail. Grey fur covered his chest as his blonde hair grew longer and a pair of horns burst out of his forehead. Two pore pairs of wings stretched out of his back, one bat like and the other of metal. In between his two horns, another eye appeared while a white streak appeared across his hair. He let out a roar that lifted Utopia into the air.

"UNITY IS THE ULTIMATE POWER!!!"

Aeon nodded his head and ran to Mimic's side. They stood together as Onslaught stood up and roared at them both. Both friends were together and ready to fight.

Next Chapter 22: Unity Part 2

* * *

Next time we find out why Xander is so special!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of destiny

Chapter 22: Unity Part 2

_The boy gazed up at the stars, lying on a hill near his parents farming estate. Space was a door to many possibilities. New Worlds, new people…of course people called him a dreamer. His people had just discovered space travel, but they would never discover life out there in the blackness. After all they were the only living things in their solar system. He'd spend the rest of his life as a farmer, a plain old boring farmer. His handheld communicator suddenly started to beep._

"_Relay your message spacer!" The boy said cockily._

"_Xander, get home immediately, the council just sent out a warning for all citizens to get to their shelters, get back here quickly" The man on the other end of the line said._

"_Sure pops, I'll hurry back" Xander said, shaking his head as he deactivated the communicator._

_He broke off into a run across the field, smiling as he saw his house on the horizon. But then his eyes looked to the sky and for a moment he admired the bright star. And gradually, the star seemed to get closer. Xander then widened his eyes as he saw the meteor flying towards his house._

"_MOTHER FATHER!!!" He yelled._

_But his cries were for nothing as the meteor slammed into his house. The explosion released a shockwave that sent Xander flying backwards. He got up off the floor and looked at the smouldering ruins of his home with tears in his eyes. His ears twitched as he heard the sound of engines over him. For the second time today he was faced with shock as purple ships flew across the sky, firing energy blasts at the ground. An invasion had begun._

* * *

Xander's first experience with aliens hadn't gone well. But his future meetings with aliens were some of the best days of his life. Now he was part of a group of intergalactic and interspecies defenders fighting for a world he had always heard people whisper about. Personally Xander didn't see what all the fuss was about Earth.

'Why in the Sparks name would Karabai choose this place as his capital planet?' Xander wondered.

He didn't have any more time for personal thoughts as Karabai flew towards him. The warlord swung his fist at the Centurion. Luckily Xander managed to dodge the punch, one that would have torn his head off. Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel flew at Karabai, firing at him with their energy blasts. But Karabai managed to dodge the beams, firing back with his own optic blasts. Noh-Varr was cut across the leg, but Carol managed to dodge the beams. She dived at Karabai, tackling him and pushing him into his own throne room.

"Impressive…but not good enough!" Karabai growled, slamming his head into Carol's nose.

Then he grabbed the collar of her costume and threw her onto his throne.

"I sense Kree inside you, and a small part of the Brood…when I conquered the Kree I defeated their military with but a single attack…and I was nine when I first met the Brood, stuck on one of their worlds…I tore a whole colony of those creatures apart with my bare hands, but I kept a few as pets" Karabai explained, clicking his fingers.

Fourteen Brood suddenly flew out of the shadows, piling on top of Carol.

"DANVERS!!!" Noh-Varr yelled.

Karabai fired a blast from his hand, hitting Noh-Varr in the chest. Mantis caught Noh-Varr and Dark hawk flew at Karabai, attempting to punch the warlord across the head. But Karabai flipped the raptor over his shoulder, slamming his elbow into his back.

"Your rebellion is admirable, and even a challenge at times, but in the end it will always have the same result…your kind will KNEEL!!!!" Karabai yelled, shocking Darkhawk, Quasar and Nova with blasts from his hands.

The three heroes continued to scream in agony as Karabai shocked them. Suddenly, Captain Marvel flew into Karabai's side, knocking him away from the three other heroes.

"Keep fighting, in the end I will conquer everything!" Karabai said as he created an energy sword and slashed Noh-Varr across the chest.

But the cut wasn't too deep thankfully. Noh-Varr bought his hands up, blocking the blade with his Nega-bands. Phyla swung her sword down at Karabai, who caught the blade, then cut Phyla across her wrist. Noh-Varr swung his fist at Karabai, who side stepped the blow and slashed him across the back. Starlord and Rocket Racoon both dived downwards, shooting at Karabai with everything they had.

"You two have become nothing but annoying pests!" Karabai growled, throwing his cloak back before he flew at the two gunmen.

Nova Corp members began to surround Karabai as he charged towards Starlord. They tried hitting him with energy blasts, but he kept on dodging. He was like a bullet, flying through space, performing various spins to dodge the beams. With a slash he cut one Corp member in half, then burned the heart of another. He flew to the left, then the right, beheading two Corp members then throwing the sword into Starlord's shoulder. Starlord growled as he pulled the blade out of his shoulder and let himself fall onto one of Karabai's ships. Rocket Raccoon flew after him, but Karabai suddenly appeared behind him.

"WATCH OUT!!!" Starlord yelled.

Karabai burst his hand through Rocket Raccoon's chest, grabbing his heart and blasting it into atoms. Starlord yelled as he fired at Karabai, flying backwards to avoid a punch that blew the ship apart. Karabai flew out of the wreckage, throwing multiple punches at Starlord. The leader of the Guardians desperately tried to dodge the attacks, throwing one of his empty guns at Karabai. He simply caught the pistol, melting it into slag then throwing it aside.

"Your power isn't enough, nothing you do will make a single bit of difference, in the end your resistance of the inevitable only amounts to nothing" Karabai explained.

"YOUR WRONG!!!" Xander yelled, flying alongside his other Nova Corp teammates.

Ms Marvel slammed her fists into the Brood, blasting them in the head. They slashed at her, ripping parts of her shirt and tearing off her sections of her boots. She yelled, firing two beams that cut the Brood apart. Carol flew out of the throne room, punching one more Brood before flying to aid the Nova Corp members. Karabai twisted Xander's arm out of place, then fired a hole through the chest of one of his teammates. He threw Xander aside, bracing himself for Carol's punch.

"I admire you woman, perhaps you could become my wife once I have conquered the galaxy" Karabai said.

"DROP DEAD!!!!" Carol yelled, punching Karabai across the cheek.

"Didn't hurt to offer" Karabai shrugged his shoulders before slapping carol across the face.

Gladiator watched as Karabai impaled one of the Nova Corp members and threw an energy disc that beheaded two more members. Xander yelled as he pulled his broken arm back in place.

"This is what happened to the Shiar, they fought on, but the difference ends when my Empress surrendered to his forces…he did so in order to avoid the genocide of all Shiar races" Gladiator explained.

"And what has the empire been like under his rule?" Xander asked.

"It, is hell…the Shiar are regarded without honour, treated as vile insects"

"He's a tyrant, surely the empire would be better off allying itself with Earth and other planets" Xander said.

"We can not take that risk, our people would be wiped out completely" Gladiator said.

"And if you don't take the risk you might as well be dead…giving up your freedom in exchange for life, living a life filled with fear…that isn't the universe worth living in" Xander said.

"I saw hundreds of Shiar executed, you are young, what do you know of death and suffering?"

Xander glared at Gladiator, tears welling up in his eyes.

"When my people first moved into the stars they were nearly wiped out by a group of conquerors, to this we still didn't discover a name for their race…my parents were killed in the first global raid" Xander began, looking at Gladiator with a solemn expression. "We fought back with little effect, but the fact that we fought back, never faltering until the end, its something I'm never going to forget and those aliens will never forget either…but the cost was that I am the last remaining member of my species, but still I look at this world in hope" Xander explained.

"You are the last of your kind? That is a fate I wish for no one in the Shiar worlds to share" Gladiator said.

"Yes but…we took the risk and in the end we earned our freedom, we earned the right to be remembered…to die in slavery or to die like true warriors, that is the destiny we chose, never surrendering, never giving up hope that someone, anyone would defeat our conquerors…what is that to you Gladiator?" Xander asked.

Gladiator lowered his head, thinking long and hard on what his response would be. But he simply closed his eyes, for he didn't know what he should have thought.

On Earth, Mimic flew and Aeon ran towards their opponent. Onslaught swung its claws at both heroes, but the pair darted to the left and right respectively, dodging the swipes. Aeon jumped upwards, slamming his fist into Onslaught's chin. The creature was thrown into the sky, where Mimic fired ice, fire, optic and electrical blasts at Onslaught. It cried out in pain as apiece of its belly armour was ripped off from the attack. Mimic then dived down towards Onslaught, increasing his mass and flying into Onslaught like a bullet. They crashed into the water, creating a wave that drenched Utopia.

'I can't remember the last time I felt this happy' Aeon thought before diving into the water.

Mimic was punching Onslaught across the head multiple times, creating sonic booms in the water. Aeon swam towards the battle, firing his optic blast into Onslaught's shoulder. It roared, causing Aeon to clutch his head in pain. But Mimic protected himself with telepathy, and then delivered a swift uppercut to the creatures chin. Onslaught was thrown out of the water, followed swiftly by Mimic carrying Aeon.

"This thing just wont go down…you still got that no killing sentient beings rule?" Mimic asked.

"It's just an animal trying to commit genocide now, as far as I'm concerned its as far from being sentient as a thing can get" Aeon said.

Mimic smiled before grabbing Aeon's arm and throwing him towards Onslaught. Aeon's leg glowed with flaming energy as he kicked Onslaught across the head, sending him flying onto the surface of Utopia.

"This guys going to be harder to beat than I thought" Mimic muttered.

"But no matter what, we'll still win!" Aeon said defiantly, landing in front of Onslaught.

"YEAH!" Mimic yelled eagerly.

Back in space, Karabai continued his assault against the Nova Corps. He punched one member across the head, and then impaled another with an energy sword. Richard grabbed Karabai's arms from behind, holding him as Quasar and Darkhawk blasted him.

"Sorry, but your attacks are useless against me!" Karabai snapped, slamming his head into Nova's and firing blasts from his hands into Quasar and Darkhawk's chests.

"Look at these people, they're here because they want to be, what do you want for your people, what do you think is the best way…maybe its about time you started doing that Gladiator…either way I'll keep fighting" Xander said defiantly as he turned to the battle taking place.

Gladiator widened his eyes as Xander flew into the fight. The young Centurion tried hitting Karabai with an energy blast. But Karabai swung around, taking the blast directly to the head. The blast burnt off his hood and Xander widened his eyes as he looked at Karabai's true face. He wasn't any older than twenty-nine at least, but that wasn't what shocked Xander, he looked human. Black hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Karabai then fired a blast that tore through Xander's chest.

"NOOO!!!!!" Nova yelled.

Xander coughed and looked at his blood as it floated before his eyes. Nova yelled and flew at Karabai with Quasar and Ms Marvel. He threw off his cloak, and punched both Quasar and Nova across the head. Gladiator looked at Xander in shock, the boy had flown into a fight he knew he couldn't win, but that didn't stop him. Like the Terran's he showed true courage.

"NO! NO MORE!!!" Gladiator yelled.

Karabai turned around and grinned as Gladiator flew towards him. He blocked a punch from the Praetor, countering with an elbow to the face. But Gladiator didn't stop; he fired his eye beams into Karabai's face. Karabai merely laughed, as the heat had no effect. Then he punched Gladiator in the stomach.

"You've earned a death sentence" Karabai said.

"No more Karabai, your conquest ends here, I swear as Praetor of the Imperial Guard YOU WILL NOT TAKE EARTH!!!" Gladiator roared.

"WORDS ARE CHEAP LET ME SEE ACTION!!!" Karabai yelled back.

The two powerhouses clashed, releasing a shockwave that threw the cosmic heroes back. Xander grinned as he watched the two men fight. Then he looked towards Earth and smiled.

'Wow, its so beautiful…now I realise why people talked about, why they fear and respect it…it's the people, they have inside them the drive to do incredible things…to survive even when all hope is lost…I swear, the planet wont fall, even if I die, the planet will not fall' Xander thought with deep smile.

_"That is true, for heroes will continue to fight to defend it"_

'Okay now I'm definitely dying, I'm hearing ominous voices'

_"While true you are on the verge of death, I can help you, ensure your survival as well as victory this day"_

'What are you?'

_"I am a universal power, a symbol of unity, an enigma at best"_

'Why do you feel so familiar, so right?'

"_I was there when your planet was destroyed, I tried to save it…but I failed, the power of the universe failed to stop evil…but not this day, good will triumph for we possess the Ultimate power"_

'Yeah, I think I understand…do what you've got to do'

Karabai grabbed Gladiator's neck and punched him across the face. He pulled his fist back then punched him again.

"No matter what you throw at me I will continue to conquer, this entire universe will be mine!" Karabai said as he prepared to finish Gladiator off.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash that could be seen from Earth. Sue Storm, Hulk, Daredevil and Spider-man couldn't help but smile as they felt a familiar presence. In space, Karabai let go of Gladiator and put his hand to his eyes. The light stopped and the galactic heroes widened their eyes in shock.

"Now I see why he was so special" Nova smiled.

Xander's leg had gorn back, his wounds were healed and he no longer wore his Nova helmet, and the colours of his uniform had also changed. The blue was now a silver colour while the yellow was black with shining stars. Red and gold energy glowed in his hands as he looked towards Karabai with a grin across his face.

"You know what they say, unity is the Ultimate power!" Captain Universe said.

Next Chapter 23: Unity part 3


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 23: Unity Part 3

_Xander stood amongst a crowd of Nova Corp members. They were all stood to attention as Richard Rider walked towards Xander with his new shirt and helmet._

"_For your esteemed efforts and unquestionable courage I hereby promote you to the position of centurion" Richard said, giving the uniform to Xander._

"_Thank you Nova Prime, its an honour to accept this position" Xander grinned._

"_Your potential is incredible Xander, you've risen higher than I ever did in my youth…I have a feeling you'll rise even higher than I have"_

"_Wow…thanks Mr Rider, I never really thought about the career you know, I just wanted to see the stars and help people you know"_

"_I think I can understand that, keep up the good work Xander"_

_Xander nodded his head and saluted the senior Nova. He looked amongst his friends and smiled as he put on his helmet. Though the last of his kind he would never be alone._

"I can see it, I can understand it…the stars, the planets, the people…. hundreds of species bound together, the secrets of the universe are mine!" Xander said as his face darkened like the blackness of space.

Karabai aimed the palm of his hand at Captain Universe, firing a blast that consumed the hero. But when the dust settled, Karabai widened his eyes in shock. Xander was still alive, with not even a scratch on him.

"Stronger than I look right? Sorry Karabai, but its time you paid for all the people you killed" Xander growled before he suddenly flew directly towards Karabai.

The other galactic heroes put their hands to their eyes as Xander slammed into Karabai. Each one widened their eyes at the sight they saw, Xander had punched Karabai across the face, cutting his lip. Karabai blocked another punch with his wrist, growling as Xander's glowing hands burned his armour. Xander then fired a blast at point blank range. But Karabai pushed the blast with his hands, flying across space and slamming into one of his mother ships. He took a heavy breath before flying out of the ship. Xander fired a blast into the ship, blowing it apart and looking to Karabai as he flew upwards. The New Captain Universe flew after Karabai, grabbing his leg and spinning around.

"I don't believe it, he's getting ass kicked" A Kree soldier said, looking at the one sided battle between Karabai and Captain Universe.

"He could actually win, warriors of the Kree, aid the Earthling" The Commander said. "Kai-Vell, hail the other ships and propose the alliance with the Terran's"

"Sure thing" The young Kree said.

"Maintain discipline soldier" The Commander growled.

"This is Kree private Kai-Vell reporting on all channels, everybody listen up…Karabai has taken our homes and now intends to take Earth, but we have an ideal opportunity to take him down, so everyone get up off your asses and start kicking…" But Kai-Vell's words were cut short as the commander smacked him across the head.

On the resistance ship, Major Victory listened to the communication and narrowed his eyes.

"Vell…. no he couldn't be!" He said.

Xander threw Karabai across space, sending him flying past Earth's moon and straight through Mars's atmosphere. The warlord slammed into the planets surface, creating a large crater. He flew out of the crater, yelling as he fired an optic beam into Xander's face. Xander's face was darkened and shined like stars across the Universe as he tackled Karabai. They pulled on one another's hair, flying across the planet. Karabai kicked Xander across the head, but the young former Nova Corps member smirked.

"If that was your best hit, why don't I try mine?" Xander proposed with a grin.

He slammed his fist into Karabai's chest, causing him to cough out a puddle of blood. As Karabai clutched his chest, Xander kicked him across the neck and sent him crashing through the mountains and rock pillars across Mars. Xander flew after Karabai and swung his fist at the warlord. But Karabai teleported behind Xander, firing his optic blast into Xander's back. Xander span around and delivered an uppercut to Karabai's chin. The Warlord was sent flying away from Mars and back into the battle in space. Kree, Shiar and other alien ships clashed with Karabai's.

"Everyone, get into that battle now!" Ms Marvel ordered.

"Who put her in charge?" Darkhawk asked.

"She did!" Noh-Varr said.

But before the heroes could fly into the battle, elite guards flew towards them from Earth. Quasar swung round, firing a blast at one of the guards. But the guard flipped over the blast and drew its sword. Phyla dashed towards the guard, slashing at it with her sword. The guard suddenly slashed her across the face and the other guards ganged up on the heroes. Ms Marvel tried to blast another one, but was slash across the back. Carol grinded her teeth together, throwing a punch at one of the guards. He flew backwards, rolling to the left and dodging Noh-Varr's beam. The guard slashed Noh-Varr's cheek and took a blast from Darkhawk.

"We have everything that we need, return to the Professor now!" The head of the guard said.

Carol blinked in confusion as the Elite Guards flew away. Whoever this professor was he must have been planning something big.

* * *

On Earth, Mimic and Aeon leapt across Utopia, dodging claw swipes from Onslaught. The Feral creature roared as Mimic and Aeon continued to dodge his attacks. Skidding across the floor, Mimic slashed Onslaught's heel. Aeon then threw one of his shields into the creatures back. There was no taunting, no quips and no discussing strategy. This was Aeon's way, quick and straight to the point. It was a way that Calvin would share for now. Onslaught grabbed Aeon's leg and slammed him against the floor. But Calvin launched a stream of fire from behind, firing his optic blasts at the same time. Onslaught swung round and unleashed a scream that sent Mimic flying upwards. Aeon broke free of Onslaught's grip and jumped off of the creatures shoulder. He threw two shields, hitting Onslaught's eyes. The creature stumbled backwards and Mimic launched himself into Onslaught's chest. He unleashed all of the energy manipulating powers he had stored in his body, blasting a hole straight through Onslaught's chest.

* * *

On the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Meijin was locked in deadly combat with the Avengers. Luke Cage punched the general across the head and Hawkeye fired and arrow into his back. Meijin fired a blast at Spider-man, who jumped upwards to avoid it. He span a web onto Meijin's shoulder, pulling him up and kicking him in the chest. Meijin smacked Spider-woman and Jessica aside, and put his hands to his head as She-Hulk approached him. Jennifer suddenly clutched her head, grinding her teeth together as she felt someone breaking into her mind. But Bucky punched the general across the head and Black Widow threw a knife into his shoulder.

"You fools, the minds of the weak are mine to control, AND YOU WILL OBEY!!!!" Meijin yelled.

His scream caused the Avengers to clutch their heads and yell out in pain. Bucky and Black Widow both pointed their guns at one another and struggled under Meijin's mental control.

"I command you! TO PULL THE TRIGGER!!!" Meijin yelled.

"GO TO HELL!!"

An arrow suddenly flew into Meijin's back and the general turned around to see Kate and Eli flying on a hover bike towards him. They jumped off the bike and ran at Meijin. He blocked a sword swipe from Kate and took a punch to the head from Eli. But then he grabbed their heads and broke into their minds. Suddenly, Spider-man fired a web at Meijin's head, blocking his vision. He let go of Eli and Kate and pulled off the webbing. Then fired a blast at Spidey. Luke and She-Hulk slammed their fists into Meijin's head. He stepped back, catching one of Kate's arrows but being struck by one of Clint's.

"Why, why isn't it working?" Meijin asked.

"YOUR MIND CONTROL WON'T WORK IF YOU CANT CONCENTRATE!!!!" Wonder man yelled, flying into Meijin's back and lifting him into the air.

"NOW HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!!!" Fury yelled.

The Helicarrier weapons aimed upwards and fired at Meijin. His armour crack under the repeated fire he endured from the airship. He flew to the ships side, screaming at the ship, causing its crewmembers to clutch their heads in pain. They rolled across the ground, fighting Meijin's control. She-Hulk felt her anger increase, but she couldn't let herself be taken again. Bucky had had enough of people using him, Lukin was enough, no one else would turn him into a puppet. A blast suddenly flew into the side of Meijin's head. He looked to his side and growled as Hank Pym, Vision and War Machine flew towards them. Rhodey fired his Gatling guns and missiles and Vision unleashed the full might of his eye beams.

* * *

Elsewhere, Sieg was flying across the world with Sentry. They supported Wakanda, destroyed the alien ships in Tokyo and protected the Cuckoos hiding in the X-mansion. Sieg landed in Hawaii, jumping into a crowd of alien grunts. Stingray was underwater, tearing apart the alien subs with Namor and the Atlantean's. Sieg slashed two mechas apart with his wrist sword and kicked a grunt across the head. He then span around, creating a tornado of energy that threw his opponents back. More and more mechas began to appear and Sieg sighed.

"All right, come and get some!" He growled as he flew at the machines.

He beheaded one, and then split another in half. One of the mechas managed to hit him with a blast. But Sieg quickly recovered, launching his wrist blade into the mechas head. He then punched another to pieces, tearing out its generator. But one of the last remaining machines hit him in the back. It stomped on Sieg, trapping it as it readied the cannon in its head. Suddenly, a rocket flew into the side of the machines head, blowing it up. Sieg broke free and looked towards where the shot had come from.

'No way, it couldn't be' Sieg thought.

Crouched on a hill was a man in a ragged black hood and cloak. He carried an old rocket launcher and was dressed in a black suit with grey sleeves and metal pads on his knees and knuckles. The cloaked figure had a pistol strapped to his hip, Sieg smirked, as he looked the gun, it had a blade attached to it. A pair of red eyes lowed underneath the hood before the man ignited the engines of his rocket pack and flew away.

* * *

In Latveria, Doctor Doom stood atop his castle, blasting alien ships down with magical energy. He growled as he continually tried to make contact with Osborn.

"Damn you Osborn, you will pay fro abandoning Doom" The ruler said as he commanded his robots to attack the approaching grunts.

The Latverian forces were beginning to fall under the constant attacks from Karabai. But Doom wouldn't surrender; he didn't just have his pride at stake but also the survival of his very kingdom. He put his hands together and began chanting a spell. Across Earth the heroes began to gradually overcome Karabai's forces. In space the Shiar and Kree ships bombarded Karabai's armada. Explosions ignited in the darkness and the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Imperial guard flew into the alien ships, tearing them apart from the inside. Karabai flew as fast as he could towards the Earth, screaming in pain as Captain Universe flew into his side. They landed on the surface of the moon, where Xander pinned Karabai to the ground and punched him across the head.

"Its over Karabai, people see you for what you really are, an ordinary man!" Xander said.

"Even an ordinary man can shake the universe itself" Karabai growled.

"You can't do a thing to hurt me"

"Perhaps not physically, step back Captain"

"What makes you think I'll do that?" Xander asked.

"I destroy the moon and ignite Armageddon on Earth, the world will be engulfed in a series of storms and destruction, millions will die and I know you don't want that on your conscience" Karabai explained.

"And I know you don't want to die"

"Will you take that risk and have the deaths of hundreds on your conscience?" Karabai asked.

"No, I wont…that's what makes me better than you" Xander said, letting go of Karabai and stepping back.

Karabai suddenly pressed his hands against Xander's chest and fired an energy blast. Captain Universe was sent flying into space, while Karabai flew down towards the planet.

"My Elite Guards, come to me…. the final battle will begin" Karabai said.

In Karabai's capital ship, an apparent human scientist was working in his lab. The Elite Guards all gave him their blood stained blades before they flew out of the ship.

"Professor, how long until Karabai's plan is complete?" His assistant, a young Shiar asked.

"I fear, that our presence will not be necessary, that our experiment wont be necessary" The Professor said.

"Lord Karabai values your work professor" A young Kree woman said.

"I know, but I am curious to see where this altered human DNA will lead us" The Professor said, staring at the blood stained blades in front of him.

* * *

Back on Earth, Onslaught was screaming at the sky, Aeon was already at Mimic's side; supporting him as his body shrank and the other physical aspects of the mutants he copied disappeared.

"_**We did it Calvin, we stopped Onslaught"**_ Aeon said, watching as Onslaught shattered to pieces.

Across the world, the mutants began to wake up and resume their fight. Patrick sighed in relief as Molly and Wallflower looked at their surroundings in confusion. Elsewhere Norman, the Hood and some of the remaining super villains began to work one a dome of some kind.

"What exactly are we working on dear?" Menace asked, stroking Norman's cheeks.

Norman smirked as he put on his Goblin mask and stepped onto his glider.

"This machine you see before you is humanities last hope…it will fire a beam that will destroy every threat in space in one single swoop, the Shiar, the Kree, none will survive" Norman laughed.

In the Baxter building, Iron Warlord smirked underneath his helmet. Everything was going according to his plan. A portal opened in space, revealing a massive fleet of ships. They were the ships of Karabai's empire, the last wave in his attack. His elite guards flew to his side as he awaited the arrival of the Earth's heroes. Across the continent, the New Avengers began to overcome Meijin's mind control.

"IT'S OVER!!!!" Bucky yelled, slamming his fist straight through Meijin's chest.

Rhodey then fired his Uni-beam, shattering the rest of the general's armour. The Avengers cheered while Pym looked at the remains of the armour in confusion.

"Wait a second, the other generals had forms beneath their armour…what does this mean?" Henry asked.

"**Feel that little itch at the back of your head Pym, that's me, you've got so much knowledge inside you…maybe its time I put it to a better use"**

Hank widened his eyes, Meijin did have a form, but it was one that no one besides a psychic could see. Meijin was an airborne presence, one that needed a container of some kind to survive. Now that his armour was destroyed he needed to possess someone in order to survive.

"**Very good assumption Pym, I hope you don't mind me borrowing you for say, the rest of your natural life" **Meijin laughed.

"**WE CANT ALLOW THAT!!!" **Three united thunderous voices yelled in the astral plane.

Meijin's form of a dark shadow looked towards the light. A battle was beginning in the astral plane. His opponents were three sisters, both wearing identical blue and white uniforms with the halos of white Phoenix's glowing behind them.

"**Your mind controlling days end today!" **The Stepford Cuckoos said together.

Next Chapter 24: Unity Part 4

* * *

Next time we've got Cuckoos against Meijin and Victor vs Victor, Cassie vs Cassie, Xavin vs Xavin and two surprise arrivals against their counterparts and Iron Warlord vs Aeon with an unexpected ally.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 24: Unity Part 4

Aeon carried Mimic across Utopia as the mutants began to awaken from their sleep. Calvin no longer had his wings or any physical aspects of the mutants he had copied. Magneto and Quicksilver were already awake and repairing Utopia. In San Francisco, Cyclops was mobilising the rest of the X-men while Jean and Xavier coordinated the attacks.

"Sentry, American and Middle Eastern forces need support" Jean said.

"I'm on my way!" Sentry said and dashed towards the Middle East.

"Any available agents go to China and assist in civilian evacuation, Sieg protect them as they do this" Xavier ordered.

Sieg slammed his fist into a scorpion mech then flew into the sky. He left a trail of blue energy behind him as he flew as fast as he could towards China, destroying multiple alien ships with the energy trail he left. On the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, Fury began addressing every Avenger in the world.

"Any metahumans that aren't knee deep in fighting report to Tony Stark at Stark tower immediately" Fury said.

"Two more ships left sir" Driver said.

"Then hit them with everything we've got" Fury growled.

On the ground, US Army soldiers began loading mortars and missile launchers. General Thunderbolt Ross stood at the front of the attack, leading the assault against Karabai's ground forces.

"FIRE! BLOW THESE SONS OF BITCHES TO HELL!!!" The General yelled.

The barrels of tanks boomed and missiles and shells flew into the air, bombarding Karabai's grunts and Scorpion mechs. Air Force jets flew over the alien forces, bombing them till the sand beneath them turned to glass. Mach IV and his three students swooped down towards the grunts, spinning around and firing their blasters, consuming the aliens in a tornado of red blaster shots. Fury ordered his agents to fire as Driver flew over one of the alien mother ships. The shells and energy blasts tore through the hull of the ship, causing multiple explosions and finally one huge explosion as the airship flew away from the alien craft.

"Any available Avengers assemble now!" Tony said through his radio. "The time to fight back is now, Karabai has been detected in the Balkan Mountains, I repeat all available Avengers Assemble!!"

* * *

In the dead of night, two fiery motor cycles rode across America. The two Ghost Rider's rode into a swarm of alien insects. Blaze swung his flaming chain around, cutting apart insects one at a time. Ketch then blew a cloud of fire out of his mouth, consuming the insects. They aimed the palms of their hands at the aerial ships and fired blasts of Hellfire, shooting the alien spacecrafts down. And in a magnificent show of speed and fire they revved their engines and rode in a circle, pulling on their brakes and sending Hellfire flying out of their wheels, burning the aliens around them.

"VENGEANCE!!!" They yelled, unleashing the full force of their penance stares.

Hellfire was released from their skulls, covering the desert and nearby cities, causing the grunts and ship pilots to yell in pure terror. In Las Vegas Phobos and Trauma stood beside one another.

"WE KNOW WHAT YOU FEAR!!!!" They yelled.

The alien invaders were faced with pure terror incarnate as Trauma changed into the form of Galactus and Phobos bought their hidden fears to the surface. They ran as fast as they could away from the two super humans, pushing past one another and crushing their own allies underfoot. Ares, Deadpool and Domino then flew over on hover bikes, picking them off with assault rifles. Wonder Man, War Machine and Vision flew across the sky towards Avengers tower, while Wolverine, Spider-man and Spider-woman, MVP, She-Hulk and Hawkeye flew in a Quinn jet with Hank flying behind them on a shrunken craft. In the Helicarrier, the three night nurses and Dr Strange were attending to the wounded.

"WHERE ARE THOSE BANDAGES I ASKED FOR!!!" Steven yelled.

Aunt May and Mary Jane ran into the infirmary, carrying rolls of bandages and morphine drips. Behind them was Bucky and Eli, supporting Citizen V on their shoulders.

"Gun shot wound, right on the neck!" Bucky said as he and Eli laid the man down.

"Get the bullet out, then keep pressure on the wound" Linda Carter said.

"Where is that healer from the X-men?" Georgia asked.

"Apparently there was an attack in San Francisco, he and a few other X-men are trapped behind enemy lines" Christine Palmer explained.

* * *

In San Francisco, Cannonball flew into an army of alien grunts. Josh was tending to a wounded Surge while Noah and Kid Vulcan were drawing the scorpions back with blasts from their hands.

"This is Cable reporting on all frequencies, we need immediate support" Nathan growled, throwing a group of grunts back with his TK.

He then rolled out of his hiding place and shot three grunts in the head with his rifle. Sunspot tore a mecha apart while Dani rushed into battle with a sword and a Valkyrie's headdress. She beheaded one of the grunts, and then stabbed an insect alien in the head. Cable switched his rifle to automatic fire and bombarded the alien grunts with a spray of gunfire.

"IS ANYONE LISTENING!!!" Cable yelled.

* * *

Monet grinded her teeth together as she and X-23 engaged a squadron of Annihilus's former troops. X-23 slashed two insects across their chests and M slammed her fist into another's head. Across from them, Longshot was jumping over alien grunts, throwing shards of metal into their heads. He then rolled across the floor, dodging the claw swipes of the alien insects. Flipping onto his hands, he span around and kicked the insects so hard that their heads fell off.

"HOW ABOUT GIVING US SOME LUCK HERE!!!" Magma yelled at Longshot as she consumed a group of grunts in a lava blast.

"I'll be just with you" Longshot smirked.

A portal suddenly opened behind Longshot and the girls widened their eyes as a set of insect legs stuck out of it.

"LONGSHOT GET OUT OF THERE!!!" Magma yelled.

Longshot turned around and widened his eyes as the Brood flew out of the portal. One of them impaled him, and then bit off a part of his neck. Dazzler yelled as she unleashed a burst of light on the Brood. Across the world, portals were opening to reveal swarms of Brood. Osborn threw a bag of pumpkins bombs at the swarm while the super villains that had sided with him defended themselves. Juggernaut squashed one of the Brood with a single punch and Weapon Omega shot two apart. Daken jumped off of the platform he was working on and began slashing the Brood insects apart. In space, the Shiar and Kree ships endured intensive fire from the thousands of ships that made up Karabai's fleet. Silver Surfer and Captain Universe were pouring all of their cosmic powers into creating barriers to protect the ships while Trance had already defeated the guards in the prison ships and released their prisoners. The Inhuman royal family, led by Black Bolt began their flight back to the Moon.

"FIRE! DON'T GIVE UP!!!" Ronan yelled, with s swing of his hammer the Kree ships fired, destroying one of Karabai's mother ships.

"Noh-Varr, carry on the fight here, I'm going to meet the others at Avengers tower" MS Marvel said.

"Go, our reinforcements are already here" Noh-Varr said.

Ms Marvel looked to the west and smiled as Skrull ships began to fire on Karabai's fleet. Leading them was the Super Skrull himself, with Hulkling inside the mother ship giving orders.

* * *

The Fantastic Four broke into the Baxter building, keeping their eyes out for Warlord and his Avengers. But the whole building was deserted.

"Well, I guess it's a bad time to start cleaning up huh?" Ben asked.

"Lets get to Avengers tower" Reed said.

"Not so fast Reed, you and Sue should stay with Valeria and Franklin" Johnny said.

"Johnny's right Stretcho, you guys should stay here" Ben said.

"No, we're a team, we need to stick together" Sue said.

"And you two need to survive so that Franklin and Valeria grow to become heroes like you two"

"This isn't up for debate Ben, besides T'Chaka told us that Johnny died during the invasion too, if we all stick together we can avoid that" Reed said.

Ben lowered his head as Sue and Reed walked past him. His friend was right; this wasn't something that was up for a debate. Swinging his arms back, Ben struck Sue and Reed across the back of the head, and then rushed forward, punching Johnny so hard that he fell unconscious.

"Ben, why did you do that?" Valeria asked as she shook her mothers body.

"In order to change the future, they need to survive" Ben said.

"But Uncle Ben, you're the heart and soul of the four" Franklin said, a tear falling down his face.

"Aw thanks kid, come here you two…don't worry, I'm coming back" Ben said, hugging the two children.

"You promise?" Valeria asked.

"I swear on aunt Petunia's grave, I'll come back, besides those aliens don't stand a chance against the idol of millions" The Thing smirked.

Franklin and Valeria stepped aside as Ben walked to the hanger. He climbed into the old Fantasticar and took off to help the Avengers. Elsewhere in Latveria, alien grunts were beginning to break into castle.

"No, Latveria will not fall" Doom growled.

"It will Victor!"

Doom turned around and widened his eyes beneath his helmet. Standing before him was the Iron warlord. The Iron tyrant fired his Uni-beam, consuming Doom in a blast of energy.

"Latveria is destined to fall, Atlantis is destined to fall, Asgard will fall!" Warlord laughed as he walked towards Doom.

The ruler of Latveria was on his knees, his cloak burnt off with sweat dripping off of the holes on his armour.

"Good Victor, bow before your end!" Warlord laughed.

"Doom…bows…TO NO MAN!!!!" Dr Doom yelled as his hands glowed with a yellow light.

He slammed his hands into Warlord's chest, blasting the man with magical energy. Warlord slid to a halt and smiled as he threw his cloak off. The two armoured rulers ran at one another, slamming their fists together, magical energy sparkling around them. Karabai's alien grunts armed their weapons as they approached the shelter housing the Latverian population.

"Every single Latverian, is destined to die, it doesn't matter who does it" Warlord said as he threw Doom towards the edge of his castle.

The grunts began firing at the gate of the shelter, slowly cutting the door. They broke through the Latverian civilians looked at their attackers; Women embraced their children and the men that showed courage braced themselves for the coming end.

"Prepare to fire!" The Commander said.

They aimed their blasters at the Latverian's and awaited the order.

* * *

On the Astral plane, Meijin faced the Stepford cuckoos. The three sisters minds were united once more and amplified by the repaired Cerebro. Meijin yelled as he changed into the form of a black knight. Celeste ducked underneath a swing from the general's psi-sword. Both Phoebe and Mindee grabbed Meijin, but he slapped them aside and fired a blast from his eyes towards Celeste. She crossed her hands into an X shape, blocking the psi-blast. In the physical plane of existence, blood dripped down Celeste's nose.

"HOW DID YOU THINK THIS WOULD END!!!" Meijin yelled, creating two Psi axes.

Phoebe and Celeste made X shaped shields and blocked the strikes, giving Mindee the opportunity to hit Meijin with a psionic blast. The General hit all three girls with a blast of psionic energy. He then grabbed Celeste by her neck and looked into her eyes.

"You pathetic human, nothing can stop me!" Meijin growled.

"Your wrong, I am human, but we aren't pathetic" Celeste said.

"_We are humanities future girls, Homo-superior, the next step in their evolution" _Emma had told them, but she was wrong.

Mutants, Homo-superior, they were all titles made by arrogant and weak people. People that tried to say they were better or worse off than others. They were human, they lived on Earth and felt the same emotions and dreams that others had. Power didn't make a difference; they were capable of killing and dying for their dreams. Celeste grinded her teeth together as her eyes glowed a blue colour. Phoebe and Mindee flew to their sister's side and looked at Meijin with glowing eyes.

"What is this power?" Meijin asked with a growl as his armour began to burn.

"The power of three minds in one!" The three girls said together.

Meijin was suddenly pushed back by a Psionic jolt. He looked to the girls and widened his eyes as they changed into small diamonds. They linked together; creating a larger diamond that gradually began to crack. Across the world, Sieg suddenly stopped as he felt Celeste's presence.

"Oh no" He whispered.

The diamond shattered, revealing one woman dressed in a feminine version of Sieg's armour with white hair sticking out of the back.

"**WE ARE SISTERS UNITED ONCE MORE!!!" **She yelled.

"THEN IT'LL MAKE IT EASIER TO KILL YOU THEN!!!" Meijin yelled as he flew forward.

A pair of angelic wings ignited behind the Cuckoo as she flew at Meijin. They slammed their fists together, cracking the very walls of their psionic battlefield. Meijin threw an axe at Cuckoo, who materialised a boomerang in her hand and threw it at the axe. The two weapons clashed and returned to the hands of their wielders. Cuckoo changed the boomerang into a sword and flew at Meijin. They slammed their blades together, releasing psionic energy as the scene shifted around them.

"_Hey handsome!" Sieg looked up to see Celeste standing over him._

"_I guess I can't think about things on my own then" Sieg said._

"_There's not much you can hide from a telepath Sieg, I just wanted you to know that your "death" upset me greatly" Celeste said._

_Sieg looked at the girl as she sat next to him, her eyes beginning to well up._

"_I'm just not used to all these emotions running through my head, even when my sisters and I had our hive mind we were distant, I'm afraid that you'll get hurt yet at the same time I'm happy when I'm around you, your so good that its sickening yet at the same time, it makes me want to be better as well" Celeste explained, laying her hand on Sieg's shoulder. "I know we've just met but I could tell you were attracted to me and I you, and that kiss that we shared in your heroes realm…did it mean anything to you?" she asked._

_Sieg widened his eyes for a moment before he answered the question "Of course it meant something to me, I've never really thought about girls before, but when you and your sisters told me about how your emotions were taken I felt obligated to help you, to save you…and then when we were training, the way you moved was so elegant, no your beautiful, you and your sisters encouraged me to intensify my training yet you were also concerned about me…and then when we kissed each other it felt right, I like you and I want to see where this relationship leads us, I don't want to be like other people whose relationships go nowhere, and I wont be like Scott and Jean, always losing one another, I'll protect you but I'll also keep myself alive so you don't cry" he explained, tracing a hand across Celeste's cheek._

"_I just wanted to hear you say it" Celeste said with a smile as she and Sieg kissed one another._

"I'm so sorry Sieg, we couldn't see where it led us" Celeste said as a tear slid down her cheek.

Sieg flew as fast as he could across the sky, yelling as the Two Marvels slammed into him.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU!!!" He yelled, eyes flashing as his helmet shattered.

He had to get to the mansion and stop Celeste before she did something stupid. For so long he had been in doubt about his feelings for Celeste and Megan. But not he realised, Pixie was a friend, a precious friend but Celeste was much more than that. He loved her and he would preserve that love no matter what it took.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

* * *

Victorious, Ant-Woman, Super Skrull and the Sorceress Supreme had grown tired of waiting. Enchantress had ordered them, Armoury and Skaar to go to the desert and ambush Mancha, Stature, Xavin and Nico so she could brainwash them into following Warlord's ideals. Skaar smirked as the Quinn jet landed in front of them. Stature, Nico, Xavin and Victor stepped out of the craft, and faced their future selves.

"I cant believe I was ever so small" The future Xavin chuckled.

"Still, at least my looks got better" Victorious said.

"Are you saying we were ugly as kids?" Ant-woman asked.

"Of course not babe"

"Well, this is awkward" Victor said, looking over at Cassie.

"Hey, future me why are you wearing such a ridiculous cloak?" Nico asked.

"I can't believe I was such a child, bitter and stuck up!" The future Nico sighed.

"How about we settle this quickly" Skaar smirked as he and Armoury armed their weapons.

"Yeah lets" A voice said from the Quinn jet.

Skaar and Armoury widened their eyes as two people walked off of the jet. It was their past selves, both as they remembered themselves in the days that were care free. Violet had her pink Initiative shirt on and was equipped with the Tactigon while Skaar wasn't wearing his father's war bound gear.

"TIME TO PUT THE FUTURE TO REST!!!" The Present Skaar yelled as he ran at his future self.

The Future Skaar grabbed Skaar's arm and threw him towards a mountain region. Victorious flew at Victor, hitting him with an electric blast. Stature and Ant-woman grew to their giant sizes, grabbing one another's arms and pulling each other to the ground. Nico summoned her staff and tried to strike her future counterpart. But the Sorceress Supreme flew upwards, crossing her arms as Nico stood beneath her.

"Pathetic, we were weak and pitiful…. we refused to become what we were meant to be" The future Nico said.

"And what's that, costumed idiots flying around do gooding" Nico growled.

"We just didn't get it, we didn't understand them, we never figured out what they were trying to do for us"

"They put us in homes, tore us away from our friends" Nico said.

"IDIOTIC BITCH!!!" The future Nico screamed, hitting her past self in the chest with her own staff.

Victorious punched Victor across the face and grabbed his arm. He tried to tear it off, but widened his eyes as Victor head butted him.

"Don't you see Vic, Ultron's plan is succeeding, you're becoming more and more human" Victorious said.

"Maybe, but there's no way I'll become you" Victor said.

"Yeah right, strange how you say that and yet here I am" Victorious laughed.

The two Skaar punched one another, releasing multiple shock waves that shattered the rocks around them. But the future Skaar had better experience in fighting and gradually began to overpower his past self, dragging him across the floor. He threw him towards the Quinn jet, crushing the cockpit. Xavin and his future self flew into one another. The future Super Skrull slammed his molten fist into Xavin's invisible shield. Then the future Xavin released a breath of fire from his mouth, burning Xavin's skin.

"Come on Xavin, embrace your inner warrior, stop pretending to be something your not" The taller Skrull said, grabbing Xavin's head and stretching his arm, swinging the young Skrull around.

Stature punched Ant-woman across the head and bought her hands up to block a kick from the older woman. Ant-woman then punched Cassie in the nose, grabbed her hair then threw her to the ground. Violet looked at her older self, a woman overcome by the alien weapon.

"So what are you going to pull out, a cannon, a sword…I'll just make a shield, and a dart capable of knocking you out" Armoury smirked.

Violet simply shook her head, the weapon on her hand changed into a feminine hand.

"I'll use thoughts and promises" Violet said.

"What in the world can such pitiful things do?" Armoury asked.

"They can make the future"

* * *

Doom deflected one of Warlord's energy blasts and swung a fist at his opponent. Warlord easily dodged the attack, elbowing Doom in the face then knocking him to the ground. Doom's legs shook as he got off the floor, was this truly the end of Latveria? The villagers closed their eyes as the soldiers cocked their rifles.

"No, IT CANT END!!!" Doom yelled.

A portal suddenly opened above the soldiers and Aeon jumped out, landing on them. He kicked and punched them drawing their attention away from the civilians. His armour began to release and intensive gold shine as the Latverian men ran at their attackers, protecting their families. Aeon pushed the grunts aside with a flash of yellow light from his eyes. His hands began to glow as he looked towards the ships in the sky.

"_**Persevere Doom, there is still hope"**_ Aeon said as the gold colour left his armour, turning it into a dull grey.

With a yell, Aeon fired an incredible golden blast that consumed the alien ships. The with the last of his residual energy he flew towards the castle. Warlord widened his eyes as Aeon fell towards the castle.

CRASH!!!

Aeon landed on the roof head first, falling on his back with a groan. Dr Doom blinked in surprise while Iron Warlord laughed.

"_**Maybe I should have bought Wanda with me, teleportation is a lot better method of transport than launching yourself like a rocket…less painful too" **_Aeon said as he got up off the floor.

"Who are you?" Doom asked.

**_"A man whose trying to help, I just saved every last citizen of Latveria"_**

"Then I suppose they'll have to die by my hands" Warlord said.

"_**Not if I have anything to say about it" **_Aeon growled.

"I swear on my honour, not one Latverian will fall" Doom said as he stood at Aeon's side.

Warlord simply laughed as he flew at the two armoured men. Aeon rolled underneath a punch thrown by the Warlord, whilst Doom smacked the man across the head. Iron Warlord fired his repulsors rays at Doom and Aeon, both of whom deflected the beams with their wrist guards. Doom fired a magical blast while Aeon fired an optic beam, hitting Warlord from the front and back. The force of their energy attacks ripped off the Warlord's armour, revealing his true form for all to see.

* * *

In Stark Tower, Iron Man stood in his Silver Centurion style armour. The New Avengers including MVP and Ms Marvel were the first to arrive. After them came Hank, Wonder Man and Vision, then the Thing. Tony tapped his foot against the floor as he awaited the arrival of more members. Thor soon walked into the room with Songbird and Crusader.

"Okay, that seems to be all we're going to get…lets begi…" But before Tony could begin the door was swung open.

"Princess powerful is back!" Molly said with a cheer.

Behind her, Patrick, Laurie and Sophia shook their heads.

"Okay, now that we've got a reasonable roster lets begin, we've got two areas to cover, the Balkan mountains and a desert area near the border of Connecticut, two enemies, Karabai in the Balkans and Osborn at Stamford" Tony explained.

"I volunteer for Stamford, Osborn's my villain you know" Peter said.

"What forces does he have there?" Hawkeye asked.

"The remainder of his Dark X-men and Avengers, a few members of the Hood's gang including at least half of the Zodiac"

"I'll go with Spidey, I've got a score to settle with Scorpio" Sophia said.

"Don't think I'll let you go alone" Laurie said.

"I'll need some heavy hitters for Karabai, that's why I want Thor, She-Hulk and Ms Marvel with me"

"Don't forget Princess Powerful" Molly added.

"Stark, I don't think we should be taking a kid with us" Wolverine said.

"A kid who could probably kick your ass" Clint chuckled.

Tony sighed as Logan growled; Cyclops was going after Karabai with Nightcrawler, Colossus, Jean and Angel, so that didn't leave enough raw power for Tony to outwardly fight Karabai. But the surprise unexpected team mates might bring would probably be an advantage.

"Luke, Vision, Hank I want you three to go with Spider-man, War Machine, I want you with them as well, MVP, Patrick and Songbird your with me…we're in for the fight of our lives people, so lets give it everything we've got, both Osborn and Karabai are threats we need to be rid off" Tony explained.

"Hold up, what's Mr bow and arrow going to do about Karabai?" Crusader asked.

"Don't underestimate Hawkeye, he's beaten villains that have taken down every Avenger alone with just his bow and arrows" Iron Man said.

"So what are we waiting for, are we just going to stand here with our mouths open or get out there?" Wolverine asked.

"I was hoping that Sieg and Aeon would come with us, but it seems they've got their own problems now" Tony said.

"So we're the planets last hope?" Laurie asked.

"Yeah, isn't it exciting?" Spider-man asked.

The heroes all looked at Spider-man, frowning at his attempt.

"Oh well, one can only try to lighten the mood"

"Let's just get going" Wolverine growled.

* * *

The Astral plane was a place that reacted to the thoughts and feelings of psychics. With every strike, the Cuckoos pictured the places they had been in their lives, the places that they held dear to their hearts. The Xavier institute, the Graymalkin building, even the café Celeste and Sieg had gone on their dates. Events, their possession by the Phoenix, the deaths of their sisters, M-Day and the days they met Sieg. Their memories, beliefs and dreams began to merge just as they were before. Meijin smacked Cuckoo across the head, grabbing her foot and throwing her into the Phoenix memorial garden. The statues of fallen X-men crumbled around them and Cuckoo's eyes glowed in anger.

"You can feel it cant you, your inevitable fate" Meijin laughed.

Sieg slammed his fists into the two Marvels', throwing them aside before resuming his flight towards Westchester. Cuckoo kicked Meijin across the head, and then fired a psionic blast into his chest. At the X-men's camp, Xavier grinded his teeth together as he tried to enter the Astray plane, but something was pushing him and every other telepath out of their plane of existence.

"I'm sorry girls" Xavier said.

"What are you talking about Professor?" Psylocke asked.

"Celeste and her sisters have determined a way to defeat Meijin, but it'll be at a cost" Xavier explained.

A tear rolled down the mans face while Sieg flew as fast as he could to Westchester. He screamed as his energy trail disappeared and he fell to the ground. Gothica smirked, his cloak flying around with the wind as his eyes glowed a silver colour. Sieg crawled towards the gate, coughing as his armour shattered. In the Astral plane, Cuckoo breathed heavily as her helmet shattered and Meijin stood over her.

"That amplifier you are using is impressive, but useless against me!" Meijin said.

"Its not over yet!" Cuckoo glared.

"Oh yes it is!" Meijin grinned.

The general grabbed Cuckoo's neck and looked deep into the woman's eyes. Sieg got up off the floor and pushed down the gate, then broke off into a run. A smile crossed the Cuckoos mouths as Meijin invaded their bodies. One mind, three bodies, it was an easy task for him. Sieg ran as fast as he could towards the door, ignoring Gothica as he entered the mansion.

"Ah love, what a delicious emotion to take away" Gothica giggled.

Because of him, Xavier and Psylocke couldn't assist the sisters, leaving them defenceless against Meijin. Sieg tore Cerebro's door down and widened his eyes at what he saw. The Cuckoos had their amplifying helmets off and were in their diamond forms, purple slithers flying around their hearts. He walked towards Celeste, wrapping his arms around her body in relief.

"Are you you Celeste?" Sieg asked.

"We are no longer Celeste, we are merely the Cuckoos, one mind acting in three bodies" The three girls said as they turned to face Sieg.

Sieg widened his eyes as tears began to seep out. These three sisters had effectively been stripped of their emotions; cold logic was all that remained. But there was still hope; he would still do what ever it took to save them.

"Celeste…"

"Only the Cuckoos, forgive them Sieg, they had no choice but to do this, our bodies now contain the fragments of Meijin, his mind has been integrated into ours, when we release our diamond forms he will try to take over, the only way for him to die is if we die"

"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!!!" Sieg yelled. "There's always hope, I'll find a way I swear it, the Professor can help us so please just stay with me Celeste" Sieg said, holding Celeste's cheeks.

"Destroy us Siegfried, make the sacrifice to save millions" The Cuckoos said.

"No, I don't care, if it means losing you, then I relinquish my status as a hero, I'm going to get you help, I'm going to save you I promi…" But Sieg suddenly felt something stick into his neck.

His vision began to blur as he pulled the dart out of the back of his head. He looked at Celeste, remembering that day she was in her white dress, remembering her beauty before he fell unconscious. A cloaked figure walked down the bridge towards the Cuckoos, drawing the gun blade on his hip. The Cuckoos looked up at him and nodded their heads,

"Do it as soon as we have gone into our human forms" They said and the man simply nodded.

But then as they changed back into their flesh forms, the hooded man slapped Celeste across the face. The strike was so hard that she fell to the floor, her sisters following her in unconscious. Red eyes narrowed as a purple mist emanated from the three sisters bodies.

"You bastard, I cant possess anyone if their minds are in a state of slumber…you've just signed your own death warrant" Meijin said, hovering over the hooded man. "Don't think that you can save the world by killing yourself, I know you aren't telepathic, you cant possibly do a thing to stop me from taking you over" The general laughed.

The hooded man merely shrugged his shoulders, daring the general to take him. Meijin flew through the mans nostrils and into hi mind itself. Darkness was all that greeted him as he waded through this mysterious mans mind. He came to a door and smirked, it was a gateway to the mans memories. Meijin laughed, as he reached for the handle. Memories were the first step towards possessing someone.

"You should have shot those girls when you had the chance" Meijin said.

Suddenly, multiple chains wrapped themselves around Meijin, pulling him away from the door and suspending him in the air. He struggled underneath the chains grip, yelling in anger.

"THIS ISNT POSSIBLE! YOUR NOT A PSYCHIC!!!" He yelled.

But then a realisation hit him; the hooded man must have been so powerful that psychic probes were useless against him. Or he was insane to the point where the minds of psychics were overwhelmed by that insanity. The General looked up and screamed as he saw a scythe connected to a wire, swinging around like a pendulum, as it got closer to him. A smile crossed the hooded mans face as he walked out of the mansion, listening to the screams of the man that dared to attack his mind. Gothica looked at the hooded man in confusion, he was supposed to feel the sorrow of Sieg losing the woman he loved; now alls he felt was rage. But it wasn't the kind of rage he wanted to sense, it was a fury directed towards him. The hooded man looked towards Gothica, who froze as he saw his glowing red eyes.

"No, it couldn't be…no, you wont get me! YOU WONT GET ME!!!" Gothica screamed as he flew away.

The Hooded man pulled out the magazine of his gun blade and cocked the bullet out of the barrel. He laid it out on the floor and put his hands in his pockets as he walked away. Retribution would find the villains soon enough, but for now the battles needed to be finished.

Next Chapter 25: Battle for the future

* * *

Next chapter its the results of the battle between the Future Avengers and everybody else. Also the identity of this hooded man will be revealed in the final chapter, though your welcome to speculate :)


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 25: Battle for the future

Aeon and Doom had both seen hideous creatures in their lives; the true identity of the Iron Warlord was no exception. If only Lily Holister could see what her son was destined to become, not a man but a monster. He was a true goblin, smoke rising from his form as his muscles rippled. His fangs were dirty while a scar given to him by his worlds Wolverine ran across his face. Doom and Aeon braced themselves for an attack as steam began to rise from the Goblins back. He yelled out, releasing two blasts of fire from his hands. Doom and Aeon both covered their eyes as the blasts flew into them. The flames burnt off Doom's robes, causing him to fall to his knees as his armour glowed a red-hot colour. Aeon fell to a knee, squeezing his hand into a fist as he looked at the Goblin Warlord.

"Fools, now that you've destroyed my armour you've released the seals on my power, not only am I infected with the Goblin serum, but I also took a downsized version of the formula that created the Sentry, so you see I am quite invincible!" The Goblin laughed, fire rising from his muscles.

But Doom and Aeon weren't men to give up; the Doctor fired a blast from his hand while Aeon ran forward. The Goblin jumped upwards, putting his hand together as he chanted a spell of some kind. Doom and Aeon put their hands to their eyes as the Goblin released a bright flash of green light. When the light passed, both Doom and Aeon looked at their new surroundings. They had been teleported to the old Avengers mansion. Aeon widened his eyes as he looked around. Chained to the walls were several young teens. One was dressed in a modified Enchantress costume, another was dressed in street clothes with a Nazi symbol on her chest, the third woman on the team had six arms. Beside them was a brown haired boy wearing a Spider-man shirt and another wore heavy clothing with a white mask over his face.

The Goblin sat on a throne with the remains of a green and white robot beneath his seat. Leaning on the back of the throne was the future Enchantress. Aeon and Doom went back to back as the future generation of the X-men plus the two Marvels surrounded them. The brown haired boy stirred in his sleep, opening his eyes to see a villain and another armoured man he had never seen before. Melter knew a lot of heroes; he wanted to be one after all. But this grey armoured man wasn't X-man Avenger, not even an old New Warrior. Sylvia woke up and looked at the Enchantress standing with the Goblin. She was Enchantress, not this impostor.

"Against an army of heroes you still stand strong, your both very stubborn" Goblin said.

But Aeon and Doom ignored him and instead focused on the X-men closing in around them. Enchantress walked away from the Goblin, eying Aeon as she walked towards Sylvia.

"You must be very confused, face it girl, you're a wannabe Asgardian, I'm the real deal and in the future I'm queen, it's my destiny to rule over Asgard with my love" Enchantress said.

There was a sudden flash of lightning and Doom and Aeon quivered at the figure who walked out of the shadow of the Goblin's throne. His hair was grey with an added beard, portraying both a wisdom and ferocity; his silver helmet covered his cheeks and had a guard for his nose as well as wings sticking out of the sides. The mans black chest plate immediately alerted the two armoured men of his identity. A black chest plate with six silver circles and a big red cloak, chain mail on his arms and legs and pairs of brown boots and gloves completing the look. His hammer was strapped to his belt with a bronze sword beside it. He was Thor, the ruler of Asgard and fallen god of thunder.

"Do not oppose us anymore, give in to destiny" Thor said as he walked in front of the Goblin.

"And what is that?" Doom asked defiantly.

"Every single person on Latveria will die, while Asgard falls to Earth after a Siege from Osborn's forces" The Enchantress said.

"Our past has already changed, Osborn will activate a weapon that will wipe out the alien forces, despite the intervention of the other heroes Osborn will be given back control of the countries defence, in another month our lord Osborn will be born, his father will attempt to attack Asgard, killing many heroes and even the gods before the island crashes into Oklahoma, after that the registration act will be taken to its next logical step, complete and utter enslavement of every single super human being, upon being born mutants will be trained to follow orders above all else, America will become the dominant super power leading to a third World War, in the midst of this war, the new Green Goblin will take the role of Iron Warlord, leading the entire world into a new age of tyranny, there will be absolute order…and if anyone opposes us" Thor explained.

"_**If anyone opposes you they get turned into your own personal slaves, I saw it all through Slade's memories"**_ Aeon said.

"It cannot be stopped Aeon, your destiny was to remain in the ground so that your legacy could fall into the darkness" Thor said.

_**"Sieg, he wouldn't let that happen"**_

"But it will happen, he's destined to fall just as you are destined to enter the next world…the entire worlds destiny is to bow to us" Goblin cackled madly. "And these supposed "New Young Avengers" will be the first to fall"

Aeon jumped from his place, stepping off of Rockslide's shoulder and intercepting the blast Goblin fired at Sylvia. He rolled across the floor, maintaining his fighting stance as he recovered.

"Impressive, I can see why Slade sacrificed himself to bring you back, but its all for nothing, X-men, Avengers…kill all those who oppose destiny!"

Destiny was being opposed, or at least the destiny that people predicted. The young heroes fought their future selves. Victor and Victorious flew across the desert, shooting one another with streams of lightning. In their shrunken forms, Cassie and her older self flew in a swarm of ants, jumping and grappling one another. Skaar punched the World breaker across the head, sending him flying into a rock. But the older Skaar merely smirked, rushing towards his younger self and punching him in the gut. The Super Skrull was using all his powers against Xavin, burning him, trying to crush him with a thing like foot and even suffocating him with an arm around his neck. Xavin tried to get his older self off of him by flaming on, but the Super Skrull kept a barrier around his body. Even Nico was fighting a one sided match with her older self, she was spending more time dodging spells than actually fighting.

"Have you even begun to consider why your losing Nico?" The Sorceress supreme asked.

"How about you go…"

"ENOUGH OF THE INSULTS!!" The older Nico yelled, conjuring a miniature tornado that sent Nico flying into the back of Victor.

They rolled across the floor, coming to a stop near Skaar and he nursed a broken arm.

"These guys are brutal" Victor said.

"And hard to figure out, then again they are adults" Nico said.

"We aren't supposed to figure them out, we're supposed to kick ass" Skaar growled.

"Or get ass kicked" His older counterpart laughed.

The two Cassie's grew to their giant sizes and slammed their fists into one another. Both were sent falling to the ground, causing a crack to run across the desert. The only ones not fighting were Violet and Armoury.

"So have you given into destiny then?" Armoury asked.

"Of course not, I just realise that fighting you isn't the way" Violet said.

Armoury widened her eyes at the girls comment.

"Promises lead to dreams, and dreams lead to action and it is these actions that shape our future, that decide our destiny" Violet explained.

"What are you talking about?" Armoury asked.

"You see you're a result of my former dream, to be feared and respected in the world…but now I see that I didn't need a big gun to be a hero…hell having super powers isn't even a heroic act, alls I needed was the drive to do the right thing, you see Armoury I've chosen another dream, no more fear and no more fighting, from this point forward I'm going to do things the right way, I'll rejoin the Initiative and become a rescuer, I could use the Tactigon to save lives not take them…I wont be a woman trying to take life with a gun, I'll be a woman embracing life with a tool to save those lives" Violet explained and smiled as Armour's Tactigon returned to its regular form.

The older Violet dropped her head, smiling as she remember the feeling of loving life. She didn't need to be bitter and depressed anymore, because she now had a bright future to look forward to. Armoury disappeared and the other future Avengers were distracted by the sudden changes in their memory. The hundreds of people that Armoury had killed never died and a resistance movement still remained in their future. But resistance in the future wasn't enough, the future itself had to change.

"You keep pretending, for what, to please a woman who doesn't even love you" The Older Xavin said, slamming his younger self's head into the ground.

Xavin spat at the older Skrull, throwing him aside with a barrier. He then shifted his hand into a hammer and slammed it into his older self multiple times. Then he changed into his flaming form, blasting the Super Skrull. But his future counterpart merely laughed, punching Xavin across the head. Victorious grabbed Victor by the neck, laughing as his eyes flashed a blue colour.

"Nothing you do is going to change your fate" Victorious said.

"I can AND I WILL!!!" Victor yelled, kicking Victorious in the chest.

"You say you will and yet here I am" Victorious laughed.

Cassie yelled as her older self threw her against the ground. She shook the dust out of her hair and looked to Violet, casually leaning against the Quinn jet. Getting up off the floor, Cassie punched her older self in the face.

"I realise now, you're my desire to live up to my father gone wrong, but I swear from here on out alls I will do is honour my father, I can never replace him…I swear I will never become Ant-woman" Cassie said.

"Words are useless" Ant-woman growled.

"I already acted, by giving Amadeus Cho the ant helmet, the rest is up to my thoughts and my words, because a persons dream sets them on the path to their future, I choose a good future…NOT ONE RULED BY A TYRANT!!!!" Cassie yelled as she slammed her fist into Ant-woman's head, shattering the helmet and causing the woman herself to disappear.

Xavin kicked the Super Skrull across the head, creating a barrier to block a few fireballs. Then he changed his fist into a "Thing hand" and stretched it towards the Super Skrull, punching him directly in the nose. Landing on the floor, Xavin shifted into a female version of her Skrull form. Standing tall and proud, she looked to the older Skrull with flaming fists.

"That may have been what it was originally about, but as a Skrull I hadn't yet found my own identity, so I chose a form that would please my betrothed" Xavin began, smiling as she remembered those care free days "But now I know who I want to be, I am Xavin female Super Skrull, lover of Karolina Dean, I am a proud Skrull woman, THAT IS THE IDENTITY I HAVE CHOSEN!!!" She yelled.

The Super Skrull disappeared and Xavin swore that as soon as she saw Karolina she'd give her a wet kiss. Skaar yelled as he charged at his past self, but stopped as soon as his fist was within an inch of the other Hulk's nose.

"I see what you are, your everything my mother despises, you're the world breaker, the one who destroyed Sakaar…the fool who thought he could kill the Hulk" Skaar said.

"We can kill the Hulk"

"But what if I don't want to, what if I finally accept that there is no revenge to be claimed from the Hulk, because he didn't do anything wrong"

"SHUT UP! STOP TRYING TO CONFUSE US SKAAR!!!" The World Breaker yelled.

"Guess what idiot, Skaar not angry anymore, Skaar not need you anymore" Skaar said mockingly as he shrunk.

"NO! YOU NEED US! WE ARE YOU!!!!"

"Your hatred is just a parasite, acceptance is a cure…I forgive him, even though there was nothing to forgive" Skaar said, looking up at the sky with a smile as he changed into his human form.

The once future Skaar yelled as he disappeared from existence. Victor and Nico continued to clash with their other selves. Both didn't understand, no matter what they thought, nothing changed their destiny. The older Nico hit her younger self with her staff, and then shot her in the chest.

"You'll never understand" She sighed.

And then it hit her understanding was the key. Nico had never understood the adult heroes. She never understood the concept of Heroism. But thinking back on all that had happened she realised that she needed to follow a wise mans advice.

_"This might be hard for you to believe…but you'll be an adult one day, you're going to be faced with the same problems that adults face everyday, if your lucky you'll get responsibilities…fall in love…gain faith" He explained, walking around the young heroes with his arms crossed. "Don't you dare think that your better than everyone else, your as far from being superior to adults than you can get, I've got some advice…grow up, learn to see the good in others"_

She needed to accept a lot of things, that adults had responsibilities. That they needed to make certain sacrifices in order to ensure their children lived a better life. This was something her parents failed at, but it wasn't something she'd fail at. Getting up off the floor, Nico didn't say a word, she merely thought about things for a change. The heroes, though they made mistakes were the kind of people they should have striven to be. They deserved respect for the sacrifices they made.

'I don't want to runaway anymore' She thought.

"Well, that's a start, just don't grow up to be a bitter person" The Sorceress Supreme said.

"I swear, I'll become a better person" Nico said.

With those words, the Sorceress Supreme disappeared and Victorious was left alone. He shocked Victor, Cassie and Xavin away from him. Victor quickly got up off the floor and looked to his future self. It seemed that no matter what he thought he was destined to become this man. But Victor then began to realise, while he was still cybernetic the man standing before him was flesh and blood who had been bought up the wrong way. Victor realised that at some point he would become flesh and blood, but before that time Ultron would activate a hidden programming within his system. A program that demanded him to kill the heroes, or to at least enslave humanity.

'This isn't one of my better ideas' Victor thought with a chuckle as he put his hands to his head.

Victorious raised an eyebrow while the others looked to Victor with confused expressions. Victor looked to Nico and smiled.

"Have Hank Pym fix what's left of me" He said.

"NOOO!!!!" Nico and Victorious screamed as Victor ran electricity through his own head.

Victorious screamed as he disappeared and the other teen heroes looked at the remains of Victor in complete shock. Cassie was already on the jet, contacting anyone with experience in robots to support them. Xavin however was prepping the jet for take off while Nico and Skaar carried Victor onto the jet. They needed to get as many allies as they could find and put an end to the future Avengers once and for all.

* * *

Aeon had quite frankly enough of all the talk of Destiny. Rising up from the floor, Aeon reached for the power lurking in his soul it was one he would need. Hope Summers had drained the X-men of their emotions and Enchantress had enslaved them. Thor drew his sword and flew at Doctor Doom. Aeon quickly jumped in the way, taking a slash to the chest from the Thunder god. He span around, punching Thor so hard that it knocked his helmet off.

"_**Tell me Thor, why aren't you using your hammer?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Because the impossible has happened" Doom said, charging a blast in his hand.

He fired the blast into the ground, throwing himself and Aeon into the sky. Doom then began releasing magical balls from thin air, these energy orbs then split apart to bombard the future X-men. One of the bombs hit Melter's left chain, blowing it apart. The young hero looked at the male Marvel and focused hard.

"May god forgive me" He whispered.

The Marvel suddenly screamed in agony as his clothes began to melt. Doom slammed his hand into the ground, releasing green electricity that spread amongst the X-men. Aeon then ran at Thor, dodging a sword swipe from the god and punching him in the chin. He then kicked Thor in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Jumping off of the god of Thunder's chest, Aeon flew at the Goblin. But Enchantress fired a blast from her hand, hitting the side of Aeon's head.

"Cant you see that its already over, destiny is coming" Thor said.

"We can still fight it!" Melter said, pulling on his other chain.

The Female Marvel cradled her brother in her arms as he yelled in agony over his melting skin. Goblin slammed his fist into Aeon's chest, sending him flying into Doom. They got up off the floor, defending themselves against the X-men. Doom grabbed Daken's face and poured electricity into his brain, Aeon however opted for the less lethal approach and punched War Machine across the head.

"_**Doom, free their prisoners"**_ Aeon said.

"Do not order me" Doom said.

"_**JUST DO IT!!!"**_

Doom fired multiple blasts, destroying the chains around the Young Masters. Melter melted War Machine's guns, then thrust his foot into Push's face. Big Zero grinded her teeth together as she grew, then slammed her foot into X-23 and Daken. However four sets of claws stabbed through her foot. She yelled in pain, holding her foot as Daken and X-23 crawled away. Turning around, the Female Marvel unleashed her full fury, blasting a hole straight through Big Zero's chest. The Giant woman began to fall to the ground, but before she could even touch the dirt her skin was burnt off. Hope's hands glowed with fire as she flew towards Doom.

"Mutant Messiah or not you stand no chance against my WRATH!!!!" Doom yelled as he grabbed Hope's head.

The blast that Doom unleashed shook her very brain and Hope fell back, leaving herself wide open to another attack. But, Thor slashed Doom's wrist, causing him to back up. The Female Marvel slammed her fist into Aeon's face, throwing him into the Goblin's arms. With a chuckle, the Goblin engulfed the area around his throne in an intense explosion of fire. Even his own allies Beast and Shard were caught in the blast. Aeon yelled as he felt the flames burn his second skin. Grinding his teeth together, he slammed his head into the Goblin's.

Everyone widened their eyes in shock as the Goblin fell backwards, blood dripping from his forehead. There had only been one man that had drawn blood from the Goblin Warlord, that man left a scar across the Goblin's face that never healed. Osborn growled as he wiped the blood off his face, fire rising from his muscles as he glared at Aeon.

"Defiance against an empire, what a surprise, you heroes are always so defiant it gets so boring" The Goblin said.

_"**Yeah well I'm not just fighting an unfair empire I'm fighting time itself, and guess what"**_

"What?" Goblin asked.

"_**I'm gonna win!"**_ Aeon said.

Battles would not be fought against the future but rather for it. For the future that people hoped for. In Stamford, Spider-man and the team of super heroes that joined him faced off against Osborn's army. Vision faced off against Sofen, dressed in her Moonstone costume, while Hank and Luke faced Venom and Weapon Omega respectively. Fortunately more allies arrived to aid the heroes, from the X-men came Psylocke, Beast and X-23, and of the Avengers came Tigra, Hulk, Rick Jones and 3D-man. Fighting alongside Sophia and Laurie against half of the members of the Zodiac was Surge, Mercury, Rockslide and Dust.

"WHERE IS FROST!!!" X-23 yelled as she ran into the Hood's gang.

Wrecker and his crew ganged up on X-23, but a suddenly gust of wind blew them back. Thor Girl flew into the Wrecking Crew, alongside Namor and Ares. Thunder ball tried to strike Namor with his mace, but the king of Atlantis easily grabbed the steel ball and threw Thunder ball into Pile Driver. Thor Girl and Wrecker clashed their weapons together, striking each other across the face.

"So your back from the dead huh? Is that ever going to be explained?" Rockslide asked as he hit Taurus into the air.

"I'm not quite sure, Emma read my mind, she might know" Laurie said.

"But that coward isn't even here" Surge growled.

"Don't worry we'll find her!" Mercury said as she slashed Cancer's shoulder.

Scorpio fired a blast into Sophia's barrier, firing more and more energy from his key. Sophia kicked at Scorpio, but the Zodiac leader held her leg in place then threw her into Surge. Luke Cage punched Weapon Omega across the head and Hank tried to crush Venom underfoot. But the symbiotic villain easily rolled out of the way, his muscles expanding as he changed into his feral form. Spider-man kicked Hydro Man and Wizard across their heads, and then jumped off of Juggernaut and straight at Norman Osborn. But Menace slammed her fist into Spidey's face, knocking him away from the Green Goblin.

"HULK FINISH RED WANNABE!!!" Banner yelled as he and the Red Hulk clashed.

The very ground cracked as the two Gamma powered brutes punched one another across the face. Their strikes sent shockwaves that knocked some of the villains to the floor. Namor slammed his fist into Pile Driver's nose and Tigra slashed Mystique across the chest. A-Bomb and Juggernaut rolled across the floor, the former trying to remove the unstoppable mans helmet so that Xavier could attack his mind. Weapon Omega hit Luke with a blast to the chest and Karla slammed her fist into Vision's face, throwing him into the ground. Spider-man launched a web at Menace, pulling her off her glider.

"Cant you see how out of hand this has gotten Lily, or has Osborn spread his insanity to you?" Spider-man asked.

"Sorry Parker, but I'm afraid this time next year Norman and I'll be living it up with Junior in Miami, it's our destiny after all" Lily said.

"Destiny?"

"Yeah, our son all grown up told us about it, we kill every last single alien out in space and have our records cleaned and put back in charge of national security, so you see Spidey its been prewritten that we win" Menace explained.

"Your wrong" Peter growled.

Surge blasted Cancer with all her power whilst Mercury sliced off one of Aries wings. X-23 and Daken slashed one another's arms and growled as they clashed their claws together. Beast kicked his evil counterpart in the chest, but was slashed across the arm by Swordsman. Dark Beast then punched Hank in the face, grabbing his hair and slamming his head into the ground. 3D-man smacked Firebrand across the head and tackled Swordsman to the ground. He crashed his fist straight through the mans helmet. Then he threw him aside and ducked just in time to dodge Taskmaster's sword swipe.

"Don't you see? Osborn will put an end to all of Earth's problems in one brilliant moment" Dark Beast said.

"But at what cost, the genocide of an entire alien race?" Beast asked.

"Sacrifices must be made Hank"

"What about Julian, he wasn't necessary, none of the death was" Beast growled.

"Its all in the name of progress, do you really think that your children wouldn't be fighting as hard as they are now if they didn't lose the ones they loved, there is no greater motivation than revenge" Dark Beast explained.

Venom slashed Hank's heel, causing him to collapse to the ground. Weapon Omega then fired a blast into Luke's chest, throwing him into Vision. A-Bomb was sent flying across the desert and Daken stabbed X-23 in the chest.

"You must be wondering why your wounds aren't healing, well guess what, these claws of mine aren't Adamantium, they've been infused with the metal of the Muramasa blade, the sword made from my father's soul, not even he could defeat me, so what made you think a cheap knockoff like you could?" Daken asked, dragging his claws across X-23's chest.

"You've got it wrong pup, you're the knockoff, I'M AN ORIGINAL!!!" Laura yelled.

In one swift movement, X-23 cut through the bones of Daken's arms, slicing them off. As he stepped back screaming, she popped out her leg blades and performed a spinning kick. She cut Daken's throat, and slashed his eyes before kicking him in the face and sending him crashing to the ground. X-23 raised her claws for a moment, but then stopped, Logan wanted to save his son. She sheathed her claws and fell to the floor.

"NORI GET X-23 TO A MEDIC NOW!!!" Sophia yelled.

Noriko unleashed a surge of energy, picking up X-23 and running her away from the battle. She collapsed just inches from a medical tent. Paige Guthrie and David Alleyne ran out of the tent with several medics beside them.

"What happened and whose arm is that?" Paige asked, pointing at one of Daken's hands.

"Quickly, take it out…save her" Nori said before falling into David's arms.

"Nori, Nori are you all right?" David asked.

"Hi Dave, see your still wearing the goofy glasses" Noriko whispered.

David sighed, his former girlfriend had only ran out of energy, With a little rest she'd be fine. Paige gently pulled Daken's claw out of X-23 and stepped aside to let the medics do their work. Alls they needed to do was stabilise her and pray that her healing factor would at least partially heal the wounds.

* * *

Iron Man's team of Avengers and X-men were on their own facing Karabai and his elite guard. The Alien warlord had absorbed several of his guards, healing his wounds and recovering his armour. He put on his helmet, a simple dome shaped mask with eye lenses. Sitting atop a throne, Karabai watched as the heroes battled his Elite Guard. She-Hulk tried to punch one across the head, but he easily managed to dodge the strike, slashing Jennifer across her back. Tony fired beam after beam at the guard's, some dodged his attacks, and others deflected them with their swords. One of the guards managed to redirect the beam at Thor. Hawkeye fired a flurry of arrows, hitting several of the guards. But they quickly recovered and ran at the Clint. Molly slid into the marksman's path and clapped her hands together, releasing a shockwave that sent the guards flying backwards. Her eyes glowed a pink colour as she slammed her fist into the ground, running a crack across the ground that caught three of the Guard's feet.

"NOW HIT HIM HARD AND FAST!!!" Cyclops yelled.

The Thing threw Hawkeye into the air whilst Cyclops charged one of his beams. Hawkeye fired three explosive arrows just as Cyclops released a thin beam that consumed the three guards. The explosion caused by the combo not only destroyed them, but threw several of the other guards back. Wolverine roared as he ran through the Elite Guards, jumping towards Karabai. The warlord fired a blast from his eyes, blowing a hole through Wolverine's chest. Angel flew at him from behind, and altered his flying path just in time to dodge a beam fired by Karabai.

"This ends now!" Karabai growled as he jumped into the snow.

With a simple wave of his arm, he created a gust of wind that threw Wonder Man and Patrick back. Nightcrawler teleported behind Karabai, attempting to kick him across the head. But Karabai grabbed the X-man's foot, twisting it out of place. Colossus and She-Hulk ran into Karabai, squashing him between their elbows.

"Very good heroes, but team work isn't enough!" Karabai growled.

Thor threw his hammer into Karabai's chest, sending him crashing into a rock. Songbird unleashed a sonic scream on the Elite Guard's forcing them to gather together. Patrick then covered them in webbing, sticking them together. Ms Marvel and Iron Men then flew above them and bombarded them with energy blasts. The explosions shook the very mountain and the heroes looked to the top, smiling as a snow and ice began to avalanche towards them.

"EVERYONE GATHER TOGETHER!!" Jean yelled.

While Ms Marvel, Iron Man and Wonder Man flew above them, the other heroes gathered behind Jean as she created a telekinetic bubble. Only Thor remained outside of the bubble, swinging his hammer around, using wind to throw rocks of ice into Karabai before the Avalanche consumed them both.

* * *

Aeon and the goblin continued their brutal fistfight, with Doom and the Young Masters struggling to survive against an Onslaught of future X-men. Executioner and Coat of Arms rolled out of the path of Ms Marvel's beam, while Melter pressed his hands against Elixir's head.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Melter cried as he activated his powers.

But Doom wasted no time in killing his opponents, electrocuting Push and Torque without mercy. Aeon took a punch to the head from the Goblin and countered with an elbow to his face. Locking their hands together, both tried to push one another back. This time it was the Goblin who slammed his head into Aeon's. Then he fired a blast of fire from his mouth, throwing Aeon into Enchantress's arms.

"We're winning Aeon, your friends will fail" She whispered.

"_**Shut up, we wont give in, we'll never surrender"**_ Aeon growled.

He grabbed Enchantress's hair and threw her to the ground. Thor then lunged forward, plunging his sword into Aeon's chest. Sentry flew above the mansion, just in time to see Thor stab Aeon.

"NOOOO!!!!" He yelled.

Sieg awoke from his sleep, widening his eyes as he felt what had happened. Xavier too was faced with shock as he sensed Aeon's mind linger. The mans thoughts had been focused on stopping the Goblin, but now he began to think of the most important person in his life. With a yell of anger, Sentry flew into the X-men. He clapped his hands together, knocking most of the X-men back. Then he slammed his fist into Thor's face, throwing him into Enchantress. Aeon looked at Thor's hammer, knocked off of the god's belt and just lying on the floor.

"_**I know now why you don't use your hammer, because it no longer considers you worthy, this is for Slade!!" **_Aeon picked up the hammer and with the last of his strength he threw the hammer, smashing Enchantress's face in.

The god's brain washing began to fade and the X-men stopped in their tracks. Hope looked at her teammates, the people she had betrayed. She stole their emotions, making it easier for Enchantress to take over their minds. Lowering her head, a smile spread across her lips. With a simple wave of her arm she and her teammates began to fade away.

"HOPE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!" The Goblin Warlord yelled.

"Face it Osborn, its over, we're finished…the one thing we couldn't do was stop them from choosing" Hope said with a smile as she disappeared.

"You fools, YOU FOOLS! I DON'T NEED YOU I'LL KILL THEM ALL!!!" Goblin yelled as he looked towards the worn out heroes and villains.

Sentry held Aeon in his arms, kneeling on the floor and looking into the young mans eyes.

"_**Are you afraid?" **_Aeon asked.

"Of course I am, I'm terrified of my power, but a man always faces what he's afraid of, he never backs down or surrenders to fear, that's what Slade taught me" Sentry said.

**_"Lot better than that "no void" crap right?"_**

"Damn right!"

"_**Are you ready?" **_Aeon asked.

"Yes!"

"Whatever you have planned it won't work!" Goblin growled.

"_**You don't know a thing about me Goblin, you don't know what my true power is" **_Aeon said as Sentry helped him up off the floor.

Goblin merely grinned, this man couldn't do a thing against his power of a million exploding suns. Even as Sentry and Aeon floated into the air, the Goblin maintained his confident expression. Suddenly, the Sentry disappeared, replaced by a golden energy ball. The ball flew around Aeon before flying straight into his chest. In a bright flash of light, Aeon's form changed, long locks of blonde hair stuck out of the back of his helmet while the armour itself changed into the colour scheme of the Sentry's costume, with the Sentry's symbol glowing on his chest and a cloak hanging off his neck.

"Impossible!" Goblin whimpered.

"_**Destiny ends here goblin!" **_Aeon said, his own voice and Robert Reynold's voice echoed together.

As yellow energy glowed around Aeon, Goblin released his own flaming energy. They flew at one another and both doom and the Young Masters ducked for cover as Aeon slammed his fist into Goblin's face, throwing him straight through his throne and out of the mansion. The Goblin crashed through three buildings before coming to a halt at Avengers tower. Jarvis, his Skrull counterpart and Lindy Reynolds ran out of the door with several Guardsmen. Aeon landed in front of Goblin, grabbing him by his neck and looking him straight in the eyes.

"You can't stop it, I am destined to rule" The Goblin said, coughing blood onto the victor's face.

"_**The least I can do is try" **_Aeon said.

Goblin simply smiled before the light faded from his eyes. In another flash of light, Sentry and Aeon separated, Bob fell to his knees and into his wife's arms while Aeon stood tall.

"I've given you most of my power, you can still make it" Bob said.

Aeon nodded his head before a yellow aura surrounded his body. He took flight into the air and began his journey to Stamford. Norman Osborn laughed as he typed in the codes to activate the beam cannon. His army was keeping the Avengers and X-men occupied. Soon he would be declared the hero of the entire world. People would look to him as the man that had destroyed every threat to Earth in just one shot. And after a few years as Earth's defender, he would be Earth's conqueror.

"PUSH THROUGH! WHATEVER THAT CANNON THING IS IT CANT BE GOOD!!!" Spider-man yelled.

His spider sense ran and Peter ducked just in time to avoid a sword swipe from Vargas. The swordsman swung his blade at Spider-man, but a glowing purple Katana stopped the blade.

"I thought I killed you" Vargas growled at Psylocke.

"That trick never works, it's payback time!" Betsy said.

'Okay, I'll just get away from this' Peter thought as he crawled away from the imminent duel.

"Yes, its full charged…now let very stinking alien die in the blackness of space!" Osborn said before he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The machine released a sonic boom that knocked down the fighters. Robbie Baldwin and Michael Pointer shook their heads as the effects of their brain washing drugs ran out. They looked in shock as a gigantic beam was fired from the dome, flying straight towards Earth. In the mountains, Karabai burst out of the snow and watched as the magnificent beam flew into space. His servants and soldiers would die; including the alien race that raised him after his planets destruction would be wiped out. Genocide was about to be committed, and it was a human's fault.

"Humanity is the race that seeks destruction!" He whispered.

Chapter 26: A shared belief

* * *

Here it comes, the final moments of the war, who will stand and who will fall? Who will be declared the victor?


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Chapter 26: A shared belief

I am Uatu of the Watcher's, I like Karabai are the last of my kind. My duty is to bear witness to significant events in the Universe. The fall of Karabai was one such event, the destruction of an entire planet. Karabai's real name is Kevin Seyhack, a Karaban from the planet Karabai. They are much like humans in their appearance and culture, but their strength and intelligence allowed them to advance their culture to points the people of Earth would not reach for millennia. All disease had been wiped out, poverty and racial hate was non-existent. The planet was a Utopia, an empire that reached into their solar system and prospered. But a great tragedy befell the planet; an alien invasion, or a being like Galactus, but didn't destroy them rather by their own technology. For them it was another discovery to make, the mastery of robotic AI. They wanted to create a single machine that would link all machinery on the planet and their colonies, one that would grow more intelligent and spread that intelligence to the children of the planet, teaching them acceptance and removing all hate.

But this Artificial Intelligence grew more intelligent than its masters. Intelligence can become arrogance, leading to a shared belief from every machine that they were superior to their own creators. In a single day, half of the world's population was wiped out. Machinery for crops shut down, preventing farmers from growing their own food, elevators, aircraft and vehicles all crashed, leading to thousands of deaths in single moments. The life support systems of space colonies shut down and across the world, people saw the deaths of billions of people that lived in space. Factories that created transport were then given a new purpose, to create weapons.

The Hive mind that was gradually destroying the planet was given a name by the religious cults of the world. They called it Legion! Despite their belief in synthetic superiority, the Legion used its incredible technology to evolve into something that was part machine and part organic. Grey skinned, red eyed, with spikes sticking out of the back of their spines and circuitry running across their legs and chests, the Legion became an army that grew in size till it over ran the entire planet. Millions died, caught in the energy blasts from the Legion ships and rifles. The Karaban's tried to fight back, but their resistance movement was wiped out as soon as it was formed.

And yet despite all the death, all the sorrow and destruction a single hope remained. A scientist had altered his son, making him the strongest and most powerful of Karaban's. Kevin Seyhack was five when he gained his incredible strength. His father was a brilliant man, who had unfortunately proposed the idea of the machine hive-mind.

"Kevin, quickly, step onto the teleport pad" The man said, pulling Kevin into his lab.

"Dad what about Mom?" Kevin asked.

"I'm right here baby!" A beautiful blonde haired woman said as she ran into the lab.

"You are all that's left of ours planet Kevin, you must live, this teleport pad will take you to a world far away from our solar system" Kevin's father explained.

"You and Mom will come with me right?" Kevin asked.

The two parents lowered their heads as they began to activate the teleport pad.

"Mom, Dad please answer me…no your not planning on staying are you?" He asked.

Again they ignored him and tears began to flow down the boy's eyes.

"Mom Dad please you can't leave me like this, I still need you" Kevin pleaded with his parents.

"No boy, you don't need us, you have all the strength you need to survive…remember where you came from Kevin, find a new home to call your own" His father said.

"We love you Kevin, we'll always love you"

The two parents hugged their son and walked him over to the teleport pad. He pleaded with them, but they still ignored him. They wiped the tears from their eyes as they teleported their screaming son across the galaxy. He reappeared in a Shiar world and from there he spent two years learning of alien cultures. During this time he first took note of the power of humans when he witnessed the fall of Emperor D'Ken at the hands of the X-men. Leaving the Shiar home world, he took a ship and flew across space, killing a Brood colony on his journey and even exploring Sakaar at one point. Quickly leaving that world, he then returned to the solar system from which he came from.

Karabai was gone, not a trace had been left of the planet or the Legion. Young Kevin wept for his lost planet and in his sorrow he attempted suicide. He pierced the hull of his ship with his bare hand, but it was then he discovered that he no longer needed to breath. Abandoning the ship, Kevin flew into his systems sun. It was there that he discovered just how powerful he truly was. Instead of being burned by the plasma, he absorbed the suns energy. His cells were capable of absorbing and storing solar energy. Using this energy he flew at light speeds to the planet Torfan. There at age ten he was welcomed as the first alien to make contact with the Torfan's. Some welcomed him; others such as the Tyrannical king sought his destruction.

He spent a year fighting the empire, before he killed the king and became the Defacto ruler of Torfan. People bowed to him and asked him his name.

"Karabai!" That was what he introduced himself as.

Now he was a king, he had achieved fortune, power and now had a home to call his own. People worshipped him and with his power and intelligence he led to many advancements, but never once thought of going into the field of AI technology. He learnt from his fathers mistakes and made robots into mindless slaves that responded to commands. I witnessed the birth of a galactic empire. Karabai moved out into space, conquering other worlds in mere moments. His power and ambition knew no bounds, yet from time to time he would rest, sit atop his throne and send a drone to Earth. He saw the Avengers fight Korvac, the X-men face the Phoenix and countless other events. Humanities concept of heroism had caught his interest. Their ability to survive despite their lack of intelligence and power intrigued Karabai.

"Earth, we'll save that planet for last" Karabai said with a smile as he continued his conquest.

Years passed and he finally had his chance to take the Earth. The Watcher's are not just capable of seeing events, but possible outcomes. Sometimes we ask the question "What if?" and with our power to see we answer these questions. Small differences in events can change entire worlds. For the longest time, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson believed their daughter to be dead. But barely a year after her birth and abduction she had been found. It was one mans decision that changed Peter Parker's history.

Nick Fury looked at the masked man standing before him. It was a simple choice to make and yet he was taking at least an hour to make it. He wore a black suit, with grey sleeves and padding on his joints and knuckles. Two gun blades were strapped to his hips with a brown harness on his chest and a black mask on his face. Blonde hair hung over his red eyes lenses as he looked at two sets of coordinates. The decision was simple, either go to Afghanistan and assist a group of American soldiers or go to the Caribbean or assist in a police investigation into possible terrorist weapons.

In the end he chose to assist his fellow soldiers. But one must ask, What If he chose the Caribbean?

"Those soldiers can handle themselves, those weapons need to be found and stopped" Soldier said as he walked to his jet.

He spent a month investigating the criminal underworld, breaking a few fingers and knocking some teeth out before he got what he was looking for. His leads led him to a bunker set up by an Alison Mongraine. But nowadays she was going by the alias April Saver. Soldier figured it must have been a joke as Alison had apparently kidnapped a child. He broke into the base, analysing the Goblin glider weaponry Mongraine had kept in storage. Then he came into a medical room of some kind. Creeping into the room, Soldier readied his pistol as he walked towards a dusty box. He wiped the dust off of the box and looked upon a small child, She was a few months old and had very thin strands of brown hair growing from her fragile head.

She had been connected to a machine that kept her alive. Judging from the readings she had been forced into stillbirth from a poison. But Mongraine's diary said otherwise. Instead of dying, the child's strange physiology accounted for the poison. Her life had been saved by her apparent developing mutant powers. May Parker was her name, Mongraine had taken her from her parents, made them think she had died and discarded her in this bunker, connecting her to tubes that fed her essential nutrients and kept her in a coma.

"Don't move!" A voice behind Soldier said.

Soldier cursed himself; he should have smelt the bitch coming. She was wearing a goblin glove, with a bag full of Goblin blades. Soldier turned around and looked at Mongraine. She fired a beam from her finger and widened her eyes as Soldier's energy shield erupted, lighting up the room. Easily blocking the beams, Soldier slowly began to walk towards Alison. She threw a flurry of blades at Soldier, but the masked man easily managed to block each blade, until a fifth one flew into his shoulder. In a sudden burst of strength, he threw Alison's workbench on top of the woman, kicking her bag aside and slamming his fist straight through the table. He lifted Alison up off the floor, throwing her across the bunker. She hit her head on a Goblin glider, moaning as she use the gliders wing to pull herself up off the ground.

"You have no idea who your messing with do you? I work for Osborn!" She growled.

"So your just following orders right?" Soldier asked, stopping in his tracks.

"Yes, in fact I could lead you to him, just take me in and I'll…" But she stopped, reaching for a pumpkin bomb attached to the glider.

As soon as the bomb left her hand, Soldier drew his gun blade and fired a shot that intercepted the bomb. It blew up, sending Mongraine flying across the room and crashing into the wall. Soldier walked towards the woman, slamming his heel so hard into her knee that the bone broke. He then grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall.

"ALL RIGHT I SURRENDER!!!" She screamed through the blood.

Soldier stopped with his fist just inches from Mongraine's face. He breathed a heavy sigh as he let go of Mongraine. The woman wiped the blood from her nose.

"The kid's okay, her condition can be reversed, just take her to one of those brainy guys like Richards or Stark" Mongraine said.

"Shut up!" Soldier growled, looking to the baby.

She looked so weak and fragile, she'd been taken from the only people that could give her what she needed. Soldier breathed a heavy sigh again, looking to Mongraine. The woman was just a puppet, but still she had committed the crime. His breathing began to get heavier as he looked to Baby May again. Pulling the blade out of his shoulder, Soldier squeezed it tightly as he looked down at Mongraine. A look of horror crossed her face as she saw Soldier's blood dripping from the blade.

"No please…I didn't want to kill her, she turned out alive anyway"

But that didn't take all the pain away, she could have killed May and since she was working for Osborn she would have told him and he would have used her as a tool to get to Parker. Soldier growled as he raised the blade.

"I'm just a tool of Osborn's I'll testify against him, put him away for life, he might even get the chair this time…PLEASE DON'T!!" She screamed.

Yes, she could be the key that leads to Osborn never being able to get out of prison again. But what would happen to her, what punishment would she get. Evil, whether intentional or not needed to be punished.

"JUST ARREST ME! I'LL SERVE WHATEVER SENTENCE THEY GIVE ME!!!"

Soldier yelled before crashing his blade straight through Mongraine's skull. He left the blade imbedded there and took deep breaths in order to calm himself down.

"Not this time, this time everyone gets punished!" He growled before he turned his back to the woman's body.

He disconnected all the machinery and held May in his arms. Another few days and she probably would have died. But with a little help from James's Crowner, Soldier was sure he could track down Parker in time. As the masked man walked into one of James's safe houses, the said genius looked at Soldier's bleeding hand.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Something good…now get the baby some food and find her god damn parents" Soldier said, giving the child to Gloria before walking back to his jet.

Though Soldier didn't talk about it, Fury and James knew that he had murdered someone out of a sense of justice. And that was exactly what frightened them. But James quickly lost that fear when he left May on Peter Parker's doorstep. A smile crossed his face as he walked away, imagining the happiness that Mary Jane and Peter Parker must have felt. Both parents recognised their daughter instantly and both shed tears as the girl smiled, recognising her parents also.

One choice had given a girl a chance to live and in return that changed everything. During the Civil War, Peter Parker refused to reveal his identity, for he had a daughter to protect and not just a wife and Aunt. Later, he left Stark tower and continued his vigilante activities as a fugitive. However after Peter teamed up with the new Scarlet Spiders, Stark decided that he would leave Peter and his family alone. May went to a regular school, but was always watched by three people that Peter had come to trust, the Scarlet Spider's.

"I wont be responsible for the death of a little girl" Tony said, because he knew that if he revealed Peter's identity then that was exactly what would happen.

After the Civil War, Harry Osborn was discovered to be alive. Apparently it had been a clone that had died in Peter's arms. His son Normie and May became good friends, the best of friends even. That is the result of one man's choice and one mans sacrifice. Now I watch another event, the possible genocide of the Torfan people and the destruction of the Kree, Skrull and Shiar military forces.

* * *

The beam ripped through the clouds, out of the Earth's atmosphere. It consumed a satellite and a Crowner drone that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been using to monitor the battles. But suddenly the beam stopped when it went past the moon. Aeon breathed heavily as he poured all his strength into holding the beam back. Genocide was the path that should never be crossed, so he put forward his best effort into saving the Torfan's and every other alien in space. Noh-Varr saw the beam from afar and began ordering the Kree ships to fall back.

"Sir, Karabai's ships are incapable of moving" Kai-Vell said.

"Excellent, that blast will destroy Karabai's entire force in a single swoop" The Commander said.

"But Commander, I heard that the entire population of Torfan was on Karabai's capital ship, that thing cant move either" Kai-Vell explained.

"They're necessary sacrifices to stop a threat Vell"

"I suppose that's why humanity keeps getting invaded, it just keeps giving us reasons to fear it" Kai-Vell sighed as he looked out of the window.

His mother had told him of the greatness of Earth's heroes. Yet he couldn't help but feel that they would like nothing more than an entire alien race to be wiped from the face of the galaxy.

Aeon yelled, his helmet cracking as he pushed the beam back by only a few inches. He began to think, crying out for any telepath on Earth that would listen. On Earth, Xavier stopped what he was doing as he heard Aeon's thoughts. Reaching out with his telepathy, he made contact with the young man. They appeared in a white void, silent just like space.

"_**What's going on?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Don't worry Aeon, your body is still holding back the beam, what is it you want me to do?" Xavier asked.

"_**I want you to make telepathic contact with every single Avenger and X-men member, have them direct all of their courageous thoughts into me, help them believe that I can win, tell them that I need them to believe in me" **_Aeon explained.

"I hope your not expecting me to manipulate them"

_**"No, just pass the message along"**_

Xavier nodded and returned Aeon to the world of the conscious. Aeon continued to push the beam in place, pouring all his strength into that action. Xavier concentrated with his powers the way he had never concentrated before. Without Cerebro it took all his concentration to reach into not only the Avengers minds, but also Nick Fury's, some of the former Thunderbolt's, Magneto, the younger heroes, Sentry and his wife, Jarvis and even Peter Parker's family. His voice echoed in their minds, all-pleading for one single thing.

**"Please, believe in Aeon, he's the only one that can prevent a genocide"**

It took a moment for them to publish that message and then they realised. Aeon was pouring all his strength into preventing the destruction of their enemy. The ones that killed countless humans as well as heroes. But if Aeon couldn't stop that beam, they would have claimed victory over Karabai. That was at least what some heroes thought as they continued their battles. Moon Knight smacked a grunt across the head with his staff and Punisher gunned down two with his M-16. In Korea, Radioactive man bombarded the soldiers with beams from his hands. He wouldn't show them any mercy.

"Why show mercy for the people who killed Jamie?" Siryn asked, hiding in a bunker with Darwin and some of Xavier's students.

"We'd be rid of a threat, it's a tragic sacrifice but the Earth would still be safe" Magneto explained to Wanda and Pietro.

"I CANT BELIEVE YOU LENSHERR!!!" Calvin yelled. "I would have thought you of all people would understand that Genocide is something we should never allow to happen again…I choose to believe in my friend" Calvin said solemnly as he looked at the sky.

Norman cackled, no one would respond to the plea, at least not enough to prevent the beam from killing both him and Karabai's people. Sophia managed to deal a quick blow to Scorpio's head, knocking him out. Rockslide and Mercury both overcame Cancer and Taurus while Laurie reduced Hood to nothing more than a man crying about how sorry he was. Robbie and Michael both fired blasts into Juggernaut, knocking him away from A-Bomb. War Machine then fired his Uni beam into Bulldozer's chest.

"LET THE BEAM STRIKE THEM! VICTORY WILL BE OURS!!!" Ares yelled, punching Pile Driver across the head.

Thor Girl slammed her hammer into Wrecker's head and Namor landed a swift kick to Thunder Ball's. With the Wrecking Krew defeated, the heroes directed their attention on the rest of the Hood's gang. Hank shrunk, flying away from Venom as the feral villain ran after him. Luke and A-Bomb both delivered swift uppercut's to Juggernaut's head, knocking his helmet off.

"PSYLOCKE NOW!!!" They yelled.

Betsy kicked Vargas across the head and directed her attention towards Juggernaut. A butterfly aura appeared over her face as she attacked Juggernaut's mind. Cain yelled in pain before collapsing.

"Now where were we?" Psylocke asked.

"Your second death!" Vargas said.

"In your dreams" Betsy laughed.

She blocked a swipe, and then countered with a swing of her sword. Vargas blocked the sword, slashing at Psylocke horizontally. Psylocke back flipped, dodging the blade. She then performed the splits, ducking underneath Vargas's sword and thrusting her telekinetic Katana into his chest. He yelled in pain as Betsy subsequently lashed out with her telepathy, knocking Vargas out. Hulk's anger rose while Rulk's heat increased and like before it was the true Hulk that dealt the knock out blow. Standing over his defeated foe, Hulk roared.

"HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!!!!"

Mystique tried to shoot Tigra, but Luke Cage slid in the way, taking the bullets like pebbles. He then threw his fist into the woman's face, knocking her out cold. Dark Beast threw Hank away from him, growling as the X-man tried to get up off the floor.

"It's too bad, I wanted to dissect you when you were in your cat like form…Oh well I'll dissect you anyway" Dark Beast laughed.

Michael Pointer stepped in Dark Beast's way, removing his cowl and glaring at the man.

"I thought you'd be more thankful Michael, after all I did give you a power boost"

"No! You stole that power from an Eighteen year old kid, you killed him" Michael growled.

"Of course I killed him, and you just stood by an accepted the power, you let yourself be controlled like all ways"

Michael charged energy into his right hand, grinding his teeth together as he took a step towards Dark Beast.

"No one will ever control me again! THIS IS FOR HELLION!!!"

He fired the blast, consuming Dark Beast and burning the skin off his bones. Venom jumped at Spider-man, but Luke Cage grabbed the mans leg and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. Penance then fired an energy blast, knocking Venom into Moonstone. Spider-man then jumped off of Menace's shoulder and flew towards Osborn. Landing on his glider, Peter grabbed the Goblin by his neck. Both sworn enemies glared at one another, ready to finish a battle that had raged since the start of their careers.

* * *

In the mountains, Iron Man's team faced Karabai. The Warlord punched Thor, sending him flying away from the mansion. Cyclops and Iron Man both fired blasts into Karabai's chest, knocking him off balance. MVP then slammed his shield into the back of Karabai's head, rolling across the floor to dodge the Warlord's punch.

"YOUR ALL DEAD! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR KILLING THEM!!!!" Karabai yelled.

"We've done what we've had to" Songbird said, bombarding Karabai with solid sound missiles.

Crusader slammed his fist into Karabai's face and Wonder Man tackled him. Grabbing Simon's hair, Karabai threw him across the mountain. He then fired a blast that cut Crusader's shoulder. The Skrull flew away as She-Hulk and Thing ran at Karabai. He punched both heroes in their chest, gathering air into his lungs; he then blew both heroes into Colossus, Molly and Nightcrawler.

"You took them away! FOR THAT YOU'LL PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE!!!" Karabai yelled.

His eyes glowed intensively as the heroes surrounded him. Xavier's voice echoed in their minds, begging them to put their faith in Aeon.

**"Please, all of you listen to me, we must each share our belief's"**

Aeon yelled as the armour on his back cracked. His arms were in agony, but he could afford to give up now. Wanda closed her eyes; her and Pietro mouthed the words.

"Aeon, we believe in you"

Magneto joined his children, putting his hands together in a silent prayer. Sieg ran out of the mansion, looking to the sky he could practically see Aeon holding back the beam.

"AEON I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN MY HERO!!!" Sieg yelled.

But even a single persons faith wouldn't be enough more was needed. Rachel kneeled beside Cable, both siblings putting their hands together they prayed not to a god but to a man. Instead of joining his teammates in their fight, Thor looked to the sky, his thoughts on Aeon. Throwing his sword aside, Captain Britain closed his eyes and thought of the man that saved his country.

_**"What's the point in winning a war if we become monsters? There's none….A WAR CAN BE WON WITHOUT COMMITTING GENOCIDE! PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME AND I'LL WIN THIS WAR THE RIGHT WAY! IF NOT THEN YOU'RE NOT THE HEROES YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE!!!!"**_

His voice echoed in their minds and from that moment, the heroes knew what they needed to do. Each one looked to the sky and focused their thoughts on not only Aeon, but also the man that came before him. Slade's image appeared over Aeon and the beam stopped in place. Aeon looked at his hands to see his armour cracking, but he wasn't concerned. Looking to the man behind him, he smiled.

_**"You showed them all…what they needed to be"**_

Slade nodded his head, patting Aeon on the shoulder. In New York, Moon Knight and Punisher were grudgingly looking up at the sky. Mary Jane ran out of the safe house, carrying Mayday. The little girl looked up at the sky and cheered.

"Aeon's going to save the day isn't he?" She asked.

"Yeah baby, he is" Mary Jane smiled.

Spider-man slammed his head into the Green Goblin's, knocking him back slightly.

"I don't understand, how can people put their faith in one man who they don't even know?" Osborn asked.

"It's better than putting their faith in a murderer…that's what sets us apart from you Norman…"But Spider-man's words were interrupted as Norman punched him off the glider.

He fired a web onto the Goblin's glider wing and pulled himself towards Norman.

"In order for people to put their faith in us, WE NEED TO PUT OUR FAITH IN PEOPLE!!!" Peter yelled, punching Osborn so hard he knocked a whole row of teeth out.

Spider-man fell into War Machine's arms while Menace caught Osborn and flew away from the scene as fast as they could. Instead of going after them, the heroes turned their attention and focused their faith on one man. A silver light shined through the cracks in Aeon's armour.

_**"Thank you!"**_

The ghost of Slade disappeared and in one astonishing moment Aeon's armour shattered. A light shined, engulfing the whole galaxy and the heroes of Earth and space looked on in pride. The beam of light flew back into the Goblin's machine, blowing it to pieces. Karabai looked to the sky and widened his eyes. Flying towards the mountain was Aeon, his armour shattered to reveal his angelic form. A white cloth like second skin covered his entire body, save for his black-gloved hands and apparent boots. He now wore a white mask with glowing red eyes. A red crystal glowed on his chest, with four lines reaching from his hands and knees. A pair of angelic red energy wings stuck out of his back, flapping as he landed in front of Karabai.

"It's time to finish this!" Aeon said.

"Yes, a one on one fight" Karabai said.

"One final ATTACK!!!" Aeon yelled as the two beings flew into the air.

They flew around one another, both preparing to attack. Karabai fired his eyes beams, hitting Aeon's cheek. It ripped the second skin off of his cheek, drawing first blood. Aeon growled as he flew at Karabai. He threw his fist forward, but Karabai easily grabbed his wrist, holding his attack in place.

"This planet really has impressed me, but you're not the one to bring me down" Karabai growled.

"Why? Because you say it is, because I'm destined to, because your more powerful…no, I'll win because I've got the most at stake" Aeon said.

"What do you have at stake, your honour? Your family? Your lover?"

"No!"

"What do you have to lose then?"

"MY HOME!!!" Aeon yelled.

He broke free from Karabai's grip; his energy wings disappeared as a fiery red aura surrounded his left arm. With a brilliant show of speed, Aeon lunged forward and slammed his fist into Karabai's chest. The blow shattered the Warlord's armour and shook his body, sending him flying towards the ground. Coughing as he limped out of the crater he had created, Karabai fell to his knees as Sieg suddenly flew in, catching Aeon before he hit the ground. Karabai lowered his head and sighed.

"Very well, you have proven your strength…I will attack Earth no more" Karabai groaned.

The Warlord teleported back to his throne and with a simple wave of his hand, the ships began to retreat into a portal. Sieg and Aeon landed in front of the Avengers. A grin ran across Sieg's face as Aeon gave them a thumbs up. Once again, the heroes had prevailed and saved the Earth.

Next the Final Chapter: Destiny


	27. Final Chapter

Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel

* * *

The Echo of Destiny

Final Chapter: Destiny

Karabai's fleet had moved back into the dark depths of space, leaving behind the worlds it had conquered. Lilandra carried on her role as the Shiar empress with her imperial guards at her side. Warpath chose to stay on Earth, leaving the Starjammers and Hephzibah. Driver rolled his limo up to the gate of Xavier's institute. Every member of the X-men was putting an effort into rebuilding the mansion. All except Sophia, X-23 and the former New Mutants and Hellions squads. They were instead standing over a gravestone made for Hellion. In a rare show of emotion, Laura was crying with Dust and Mercury beside her.

"He was a real hero" Sophia whispered, smiling at all the times Hellions tried to prove he wasn't.

Julian's grave was right next to Tag's, though some of the gravestones were destroyed, the Cuckoos still remembered where every gravestone was supposed to be. Sophia kneeled in front of the graves, putting her hands together and praying. Driver opened the door, revealing Laurie Collins. She nervously walked towards her old friends. Josh widened his eyes as he looked at her.

"Hi!" She said, tapping her toe against the grass awkwardly.

Tears began to fall down Josh's face as he moved his hands to hug his ex girlfriend. They held one another tightly and the Younger generation of X-men stopped what they were doing, running to Laurie's side.

"Laurie, I'm with someone" Josh said.

"I know…I'm glad you found one another" Laurie said with a smile as Loa walked through the crowd.

The two girls nodded at one another before Surge patted Laurie on the back.

"So, want to join my X-men?" She asked.

"Actually Nori, I think I'll dedicate my time to finishing my High school diploma, then move onto college" Laurie said.

Despite the losses they had, everyone would move on. They would honour the dead and be happy for those that were still alive. Camp Hammond had been shut down, replaced with memorials for the lives lost during the invasion. Jonah Jameson kneeled at a statue of Army, Fire fighters, Ambulance medics and other rescue workers; they based the Air force colonel on his son.

"The True heroes of this word" That was what it read.

Michael Van Patrick placed flowers at Cloud Nine's grave, Trauma, Hardball and Komodo were beside him, the latter in her human form on a wheelchair. In Mutant town, Michael Pointer walked into the office of X-Factor investigations.

"Hello, I'm here about a job offer" He said.

Darwin span around on his chair, putting his hands on his desk with a grin.

"Well Mr Pointer, how about we run through your Resume" Darwin said.

"Where is every one?" Pointer asked.

"The Hospital!" Darwin smirked.

Theresa gave one final push and a minute later Beast gave her crying child. A tear slid down her cheek as she cradled the baby in her arms.

"Hello Jamie, oh baby you look so much like your daddy" she whispered.

Monet smiled as she and Dazzler walked into the room, crowding round Theresa and the baby.

"Let's just hope he isn't too much like his daddy" Alison chuckled.

* * *

Robert Reynolds packed up his Sentry costume, moved out of Avengers tower with his wife and into a regular suburban home. He used no super strength, no flight in order to get his belongings into his new home. Although he did have a little bit of help.

"Where does Golden man's woman want Hulk to put this?" Hulk asked, standing over Lindy with a sofa on his shoulder.

"Just in the living room Mr Hulk, Mr Jones put the TV in the corner so put it in front of the TV…and please watch the door frame" Lindy said.

CRASH!!!

Skaar carried a microwave in his arms and sighed. His father had left an imprint of his arms on the doorframe. At the Baxter building, Reed carried on his work as usual whilst Ben and Johnny bickered over what to watch on TV. Valeria and Franklin smiled; everything was back to normal at least.

* * *

Thousands of construction workers and Initiative members were rebuilding the cities across the world. Magneto himself was building a new home for the mutants that chose to go to Utopia. Calvin unfortunately wasn't one of those people. He instead took a construction job in New York, assisting in rebuilding the city as an ordinary man. The members of the Runaways were outside Hank Pym's workshop. Moments later, Victor walked out as good as new. They ran at their friend, hugging him in relief.

"Victor was right to do what he did, I know Ultron, he'd have learnt from the Vision and implanted commands in his future creations" Hank explained.

"I cant thank you enough Doctor Pym, and I hope that as an Avengers founder you'll accept my application into the Avengers" Victor said.

The other Runaways widened their eyes, looking at their friend in shock.

"Victor, what are you doing?" Chase asked.

"Its finally happened Chase, Victor and I are tired of running…it's time we started moving on, that's why I'm going to see Doctor Strange, I want someone to teach me how to make a difference" Nico explained.

"Well now that you talk about it, maybe it is time we all did something greater than just hide from the authorities" Chase said.

Xavin and Karolina nodded their heads; both decided that they would stay with the Young Avengers. Though Molly was upset, she already made her choice to go to the Xavier institute. Hank had not only repaired Victor, but also the Egghead android, he removed all of Big Zero's hateful programming and put the android with the Young Avengers with Melter. Hulkling left the Young Avengers with Wiccan in order to lead his Skrull people. The Skrulls were given a new home to call their own. Thor, Crusader and the Scarlet Witch combined their powers to create an island for the Skrulls to live on. Though it would be a long time before humanity accepted them, the Skrulls now had their new home and one man had utter faith that they would be contempt with their new lives. Tony continued leading the registration act, with Fury leading S.H.I.E.L.D. registration and training was now a personal choice.

"It'll take a while for people to accept this you know" Rhodey said.

"Yeah, but they'll get used to it…if ever someone crossed the line, we'll intervene" Tony said.

The two men stood watching the old Avengers mansion being rebuilt. Luke and Jessica Cage now lived at Avengers tower, raising their child alongside Peter Parker and his family.

"And then I said "we need to put our faith in people", then I punched the Goblin right across the face, sent him flying off his glider" Peter said, sitting Mayday on his knee.

Little May clapped her hands as she cheered. In the other room, Mockingbird looked at her pregnancy test and smiled. She and Clint would still get to see their son. Most of the Cabal, apart from Emma Frost, Dr Doom and Osborn had been apprehended. Noh-Varr floated in space, watching over the planet he had sworn to protect. Whenever it was in danger, he would join the Avengers to defend it. Wolverine grunted, carrying Molly Hayes on his back. As soon as Bobby and Kurt started laughing he growled and popped his claws out. Molly looked at her new home and smiled, she still thought of the Runaways as her family and would never forget them. But now she had and Klara had a new chance in life.

"So...your from the past?" Ink asked, looking down at Klara.

"Yes!" Klara said nervously.

"Well we've had guys from the future, why not the past huh? Here, I'll take you to your room, hope you dont mind staying in a tent until the mansions rebuilt" ink said.

Klara took Ink's hand and smiled, this place was quite strange. But then again, a strange place was probably the only place she could get by in. Doctor Strange sat in his Sanctum, meditating with Voodoo. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and in stepped Pixie and Nico Minoru.

"Hey old timer, teach us some magic!" They said.

Steven Strange smirked as he got up off the floor. He looked down at the two teenagers, or at least now he could call them young women.

"Very well, I will teach you, but you must obey my instructions, do not question and above all else, respect those who have more experience" Steven explained.

Nico and Megan nodded their heads, from this point onwards they would use magic the right way. Steven smiled, he'd enjoy training a new generation.

Chase looked up at the Crowner building, sighing. It was time for him to get a real job and to put his technical expertise to use. Gloria would be the one to interview him; James was too busy laying flowers at the graves of all the heroes that died, including Security.

"Goodbye, old friend" Driver said, sitting at Security's grave.

It would be one of the few times he stopped moving. He would pay his respects to his friend for as long as it took. Karolina and Xavin walked into the Young Avengers tent.

"All right, I think its time we got started on your new costumes" Kate said.

"Include a cape with mine!" Melter said.

Cassie laughed as Eli shook his head. Across from the Young Avengers, MVP sat on his bunk, staring at Captain America's shield. A blonde haired woman wearing a white suit poked her head through the tent.

"Ah Miss Carter, do you know where Agent Barnes is?" Michael asked.

"He's with Natasha Michael, lets just say their doing some "celebrating" Russian style" Sharon said.

"I wanted to give Bucky the shield back"

"Keep it, I think Steve would want you to have the mantle, but at be prepared to give it back in case I'm wrong" Sharon said.

"But Mr Roger's is dead so its kind of hard for him to show approval" Michael said, and cursed himself at the way that came out.

He half expected Sharon to slap him for the comment. But strangely, Sharon Carter smiled before she walked towards the exit.

"Just dont get too comfortable" She said and laughed as Michael widened his eyes in shock.

* * *

In New York, Marc Spector paid for the latest edition of the Daily Bugle. As soon as he looked at the front page he smiled. Every single super powered being and costumed vigilante had gathered for the photo. All but one, Aeon, the hero whom no one knew. Betty Brant had written the article titled _the heroes needed!_

_In the past few days, the whole world has faced threats from every angle. Whether it be the alien invaders or our own nature, humanity has survived every threat. But whom do we have to thank for that? Is it our own survival instinct? The president? Soldiers and policemen? No it was a group that wore a different kind of uniform, it was men and women who hid behind masks. The very people we accused of killing our children and corrupting our lives. I once hated the idea of masks, and supported the ideal of heroes with a face. But in the past few days I've seen great men and women fighting with masks on. Because not only are they protecting us, but the ones they love. By wearing a mask, they protect others, during the last few days they fought with everything they had. They lost friends but continued to fight on for the people that condemned them, not because they were paid to but because they were compelled to._

_Even now they continue to watch over us, in the shadows as silent guardians. A lot of people say that Iron man or Captain America saved us. But I see, that the ones whom we owe our lives to are all the heroes, for they all did their part. We shouldn't condemn them, rather thank god they choose to intervene when the fires are raging and madmen are scheming. In the final days of this war I saw what kind of super heroes we needed, we needed men and women that weren't held back by politics anymore, because the lives they live are lives ordinary people cant understand. We looked to madmen as heroes, when they were the ones that burned Stamford. And we condemned them, when they saved the world._

_To all the men and women who died in the invasion. For all those who sacrificed themselves for greater goods and to the people that chose to do right when everything around them was wrong I say thank you. We owe them a debt we can never repay, so I say this, thank you Defenders, thank you X-men, thank you Avengers, thank you New Warriors!_

"Heroes needed indeed" Moon Knight said as he threw the paper away.

Though threats still remained in the world, for now the heroes would rest and deal with those threats when the time came. Eli Bard limped through the alleyways of San Francisco, looking up in shock as he saw Gothica and a woman in a black hood standing side by side. A grin crossed Gothica's face; he found some use for Eli Bard's unique abilities. Aeon and Sieg stood on the rooftop of a building, the former hiding his armour with a blue coat and hood.

"How are you holding up?" Sieg asked.

_**"Just fine, I'm adapting pretty well, what about you?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Celeste, Phoebe and Mindee, they're a three in one again…they cant feel anything, they just stay in Cerebro" Sieg said, holding back tears in his eyes.

_**"I'm sorry"**_

"When I find Gothica, I'm going to put my foot on his neck and break it" Sieg growled.

Aeon looked to his protégé and sighed.

_**"Celeste offered you a position in the X-men, take it Sieg"**_ He said. _**"You can do a lot better as part of a team, you can also be close to Celeste in case her condition changes, dont give up hope Sieg"**_

He wouldn't let Sieg fall into darkness, but for now he chose to focus on the positives. The Earth was safe, things were back to normal, and Robbie Baldwin was getting help for his survivor's guilt and Wanda Maximoff had he children back. Aeon smiled, the future was left open whatever awaited them, even if Osborn and Hollister were still at large. He had faith that whatever happened in the future would be overcome. But he couldn't help but feel concern over a darkness he sensed. He couldn't pin point where it was, alls he knew was that it was very powerful, but also familiar to him.

* * *

Norman Osborn and Lily Hollister had both taken residence at a hut in Serbia. They still had their goblin gear as well as plans for the whole world. Two holograms were in front of Osborn as he communicated with his last two allies Dr Doom and the Red Skull, confined to the body of an android.

"Gentlemen, though I've been knocked off track my plans are still in motion…I trust things are going well with you Skull" Norman said.

"Just get me Sharon Carter and I promise you'll have my army at your disposal" Red Skull said.

"Good!" Norman chuckled.

"You abandoned me during the invasion Osborn…from Doom you have only pity" Dr Doom said before he cut the line.

Norman grinded his teeth together, slamming his hands against the desk. Lily walked over to comfort the father of her child, but stopped as there was a sudden knock at the door.

"GO AWAY!!!" Norman yelled.

Suddenly, the door was split open and the hooded figure that killed Meijin walked into the hut. He looked at Lily and Norman, his eyes glowing a blood red colour as he breathed heavily.

"Who the hell are you?" Lily asked, grabbing her belly.

Norman threw a pumpkin bomb form his desk, covering the man in flames. It burned off his cloak and the fabric of his uniform, revealing what and whom he truly was underneath. His body was covered in demonic black armour, with a red V shape around his belly and gauntlets wit clawed fingers. The hip and shoulder guards were like blades, pointing downwards towards his elbows. Red hair stuck out of the back of his diamond shaped helmet with red eyes lenses glowing aggressively. Lily stepped back in horror as a scythe materialised in the mans hand. He took a step towards them, squeezing the handle of his blade tightly.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Osborn asked.

"_**An evil that must be punished!" **_The man said.

"Stay away from us" Lily whimpered.

The armoured man rushed forward, slashing both Goblins' across their chest. Not only did he kill Lily, but also her child, destroying any chance of the Warlord's future. Norman looked up at the armoured man, and for the first time he felt true fear.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"_**I am true Justice, retribution for all your crimes, I AM A BLADE OF DEATH!!!"**_

With those words, Deathblade slammed his scythe into Osborn's head. He looked at the blood on his blade, rubbing his eyes as the visions of all the people Osborn had killed faded.

_**"Every single evil in this world will be punished…any hero that gets in my way will die by my blade and you Aeon will fall at my feet…our battle will end with death!"**_

The Beginning

* * *

yep thats it, the beginning, cause next page is the trailer of the sequal to be posted in the X-men section. Deathblade and Aeon are rivals, the origin of which wil be seen in True Heroism. Thank you to every one that read my fic and thank you

Wolvmbm for Faithfully reviewing the chapters. Enjoy the trailer


	28. The Sequal

A new version of Necrosha, but on a much bigger scale with more psychological warfare, more dead people and a lot of X-men characters as well as OC's. Many of the OC's appearing have appeared in True Heroism.

Gothica's taken things to the next level, using a power enhancer to boost his abilities as well as Eli Bard he creates an army of the dead and utilises the X-men's and Sieg's deepest fears, so the X-men need some help and Aeon's the one to give it to them along with a few other allies. But the question is, in Gothica's world what is an illusion and what can really kill you?

* * *

Trailer: The Rise of the dead

Gothica stood at the gates of the Xavier institute, smiling with Eli Bard, Blink and Wither beside him. He spread his arms out, engulfing the entire region in darkness.

"The dead will rise!"

Thousands of pale white men and women walked through the streets of Westchester. Wolverine roared, beheading two of them whilst Nightcrawler teleported onto a lamp post.

"Mein god" He whispered.

"This isn't god, I've seen this done before" Wolverine growled.

A red motorcycle drove towards Westchester; a black dome had covered the entire region. Throwing off his helmet, the blonde haired man looked at the dome. Pressing the radio on his ear, the man made contact with one of his allies.

"Sven, this is Lazlo…I think Sieg is going to need some help"

Gothica laughed as the dead began to rise from their graves. He looked down at a man in Gold armour and smiled.

As cars began to explode and fire burst out of the sewers, a wounded Surge crawled towards David. Her mind drifted back to the past few hours at the coffee shop. She and David were sitting by the window.

"You've been at the mansion a lot lately" Noriko said.

"Just putting my talents to use" David said.

Noriko touched David's hand, looking at him with solemn eyes. Their heads moved closer towards one another, their lips inches from touches. Suddenly, Warpath was thrown through the window. Surge and Prodigy looked out onto the streets and widened their eyes. Standing before them was a man bearing a close resemblance to Warpath, wearing a red bandana with a black bird on his shirt.

"John" Warpath whispered before he fell unconscious.

Laurie dived at her mother, pushing her to the floor as an energy wave flew over them. Sieg fell to the ground, his armour shattering. He tried to get up off the floor, but stopped as the blade of a scythe pressed against his neck. Looking up at Deathblade, Sieg shook in fear.

Aeon looked at the carnage in Westchester, rubbing his eyes at the death and destruction. Cable and Domino looked through the weapons they gathered while Loa and Trance were in utter shock over the things they had seen.

"I don't understand, why would they try to kill us?" Loa asked.

"He's not bringing back the dead, he's enslaving them" Cable growled.

Laurie crawled backwards, pheromones emanating from her body. Reverend Striker smirked as he looked down at the girl.

"Do you want to know why you came back?" He asked.

Aeon stood in the middle of several open graves. Squeezing his hands into fists, as he looked towards a woman in a black cloak and hood.

"So he's using you too…I thought you got help, I guess some things never change" He sighed as flames began to rise from the woman's body.

Gothica cackled madly, throwing Cyclops to the ground.

"Selene's imagination was too small, "Necrosha", that's all too small, I'll take the entire world…starting with WESTCHESTER!!!"

Driver lifted up the flap on the door, looking out into the streets.

"There any zombies out there?" Deadpool asked.

"Don't call them that" Driver said.

"Why not?" The Merc with the mouth asked.

"Cause they're not rotting and they don't bite so they aren't zombies" Driver said.

Driver then looked out again and widened his eyes as he saw a pack of dead people eating a mans guts.

"All right they are zombies!" he sighed.

* * *

"_**You've gone too far!" **_Aeon growled.

"I've risen above what I once was Aeon, this time next year I'll have my own personal kingdom to rule and unlike Selene my presence will live on way past my death, because the one thing you cant defeat is fear" Gothica explained.

_**"Your right, fear isn't something you can defeat, it's something you overcome WITH COURAGE!!!"**_

The X-men face not only the rising death, but fear itself!

* * *

When will it be out? I'm not going to tell you :) And lets just say their will be changes as a month will have passed between Karabai's invasion and Gothica's attack.


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